"After all the debate about fair application of Papaya Rules and which of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri is really McLaren's number one driver, the answer, as it is turning out, is neither of them. One race is a fluke, two is coincidence, three is when you really start considering that the car and driver have real pace, and four is when you start taking the continued failures of the championship leader very, very seriously."
"He has now won three out of the four races since then. The one race he did not win, the Singapore GP, he lost to George Russell in a Mercedes, but outplaced both McLarens. Over that span of four races, he has clawed back an eye-boggling 64 points, with 23 of those points gained during this weekend's race alone."
"That leaves him just 40 points down from the championship leader with five races to go, two of those sprint weekends. Which is to say that Verstappen now doesn't need outrageous luck to win the championship. If he were to win each of the five feature races and both sprints, he would guarantee a 37 point gain on Piastri; if Piastri were to place third just once in that span, they would be tied."
Debate over fair application of Papaya Rules and McLaren's number-one driver designation is sidelined by on-track performance. Verstappen mounted a comeback after the summer break, overcoming a 104-point deficit to Oscar Piastri and 75 points to Lando Norris. He won three of four races since the Dutch Grand Prix, losing only at Singapore while outplacing both McLarens. Verstappen recovered 64 points overall, including 23 points at the United States Grand Prix, reducing the gap to 40 points with five races remaining, two of them sprint weekends. Winning all remaining feature races and both sprints would guarantee a 37-point gain on Piastri.
Read at defector.com
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