With Formula One in the business end of the season and the championship well and truly in the balance it all seems too close to call. Thankfully artificial intelligence doesn’t have the same difficulty in crowning a winner. There are four races remaining and only one point between teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the front with a hungry Max Verstappen chasing them down. Here is how ChatGPT foresees that battle unfolding.
Current standings:
Norris – 357 | Piastri – 356 | Verstappen – 321
Brazilian GP
Good news Piastri fans! Despite losing hold of his championship lead in Mexico for the first time since Saudi Arabia, AI sees the Australian getting back onto the top step of the podium. Even though Piastri has seen his 30+ point gap evaporate into thin air over the past few races it seems he will finally get on top of the issues he’s had in his McLaren.
With it being a sprint weekend extra points are on offer, ones that would be claimed by Norris as he put on yet another dominant performance to take all eight points. Verstappen would be second, Piastri third.
The race is predicted to be tight with current championship leader Norris close behind but unable to find a way past his teammate who in this scenario got to the front thanks to a perfectly timed pit stop under Virtual Safety Car (VSC). McLaren would choose not to intervene. Verstappen’s impressive title charge faces a setback as he is only fifth.
Other factors within the race are changeable conditions with a dry to wet race testing Piastri’s composure out front. It would be his first victory since Zandvoort back in August.
Standings after Brazil:
Piastri – 387 | Norris – 383 | Verstappen – 338
Las Vegas GP
Next the circus rolls around to its third and final American race of the season Las Vegas. This time Norris is back to winning ways as he defeats his teammate in what is yet another McLaren 1-2 even with the struggles they have had in Vegas for the past two years.
Similar to Mexico it would be another pole converted to a win. All was not easy for Norris though as another VSC meant Piastri was hot on his tail with much fresher tyres. The Aussie’s roll of the dice would not pay off as he found himself just outside DRS range when the chequered flag was waved.
The major talking point from this race is Verstappen being eliminated from title contention as he came home fourth, leaving him more than 50 points behind the championship leader with two races to go.
The championship lead would once again change hands too as with the win Norris would leapfrog his teammate to take a three point advantage going to Qatar.
Standings after Las Vegas:
Norris – 408 | Piastri – 405 | Verstappen – 350
Qatar GP
With the weight of the title fight off his shoulders Qatar would serve as a return to form for Verstappen as he racked up his sixth win of the season after a close battle with Piastri.
Tyre management was the key for Verstappen as the harsh and high speed nature of the Lusail International Circuit put the Pirelli tyres through much stress, forcing a two stop race. One driver who crucially found himself caught out by this was championship leader Norris.
The Briton would badly blister his front left tyre and force him to make an extra pit stop, ruining any chance of him finishing on the podium. He still came home fourth however in an impressive recovery drive.
Capitalising on his teammates misfortune would be Piastri who finished second. He almost went one better but his attempt to undercut Verstappen failed by the slimmest of margins and from there Piastri did not have the pace to match the Dutchman who won by over five seconds.
This meant with only the finale to go there was a fourth swap for the lead of the drivers championship in as many races and less than five points separating the pair. All to play for.
Standings after Qatar:
Piastri – 423 | Norris – 420 | Verstappen – 375
Abu Dhabi GP
This is what it all came down to. The showdown the likes we have not seen since the magical 2021 season. Similar to that season, by the end of the 57 laps a new champion would be crowned.
As Sunday rolled around and the sun set on Yas Island there was a Red Bull on pole position once again as Verstappen set a blistering final sector to go quickest at the session’s close. For the second race in a row he did not hesitate to wrap his season up in style and with intent, dominating the race. A shame really as if it were not for a few off races in Brazil and Las Vegas it could well have been a three way fight for the championship.
Nonetheless his victory would be overshadowed by the drama that ensued behind. With Piastri the lead of the McLarens in second, closely followed by Norris in third on the grid a lap one scrimmage was always bound to happen. Round one went Piastri’s way as despite Norris’ best efforts firm defence by the Australian forced him to maintain position.
Round two looked to be a cruel twist of fate for the Australian as somehow Norris was given the choice to pit first. To compound things just as he headed into the box a VSC was deployed due to Carlos Sainz parked Williams. By the time Piastri came round the long Yas Marina lap the incident was clear and the chance to pit and come out ahead of Norris was gone.
This forced Piastri to try something different. Stay out longer and charge down Norris towards the end of the race. He did just that, on much fresher rubber Piastri began to claw seconds out of the gap to his teammate. With less than ten laps to go there was less than a second separating the two. A grandstand finish if there ever was one.
In true champions fashion at first opportunity Piastri looked to make a move down into Turn 6. Norris’ defence was firm but fair, not leaving the door open. In a move that would decide the champion of 2025 with Norris off his line going into Turn 9 Piastri held his mettle and made a daring move around the outside to take back the position in an unbelievable moment for the young Australian.
A position he would not relinquish as despite overcoming adversity Oscar Piastri crossed the line second to write his name into the history books as 2025 F1 Drivers Champion.
Final standings:
Piastri – 441 | Norris – 435 | Verstappen – 400
From what I’m getting, ChatGPT certainly has an eye for the spectacle. We can only hope reality is quite as captivating in the coming month. Thankfully, there’s not long to wait before we find out the first twist in the tail as the Brazilian Grand Prix nears this weekend.
