As the 2024 Formula 1 season reaches its climax, a growing chorus of voices is daring to suggest that Max Verstappen’s dominance could be under serious threat from McLaren’s rising star, Lando Norris. Among the most notable advocates of this narrative is 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button, who has thrown his support behind Norris ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix and Sprint Race.
Button, speaking to Sky F1, believes that while Verstappen is a master of handling pressure, the heat is intensifying in the final races of the season. “Lando can still do it because the pressure on Verstappen is increasing in various ways,” Button stated. “It’s not just Norris and Oscar Piastri; Ferrari and Mercedes are also making life difficult for him. Red Bull Racing is no longer finding it as easy as it did in the first part of the season.”
Button praised Verstappen’s mental strength but suggested that even the three-time world champion could be feeling the weight of expectations. “Max is incredibly strong mentally, but there is the nagging thought that he may not win for the rest of the season,” said Button. He believes Verstappen must now make the most of every opportunity, making his path to the podium more difficult than ever before.
Currently, with six races remaining, Verstappen holds a 52-point lead over Norris in the drivers’ standings. However, as Button points out, the math is in Norris’s favor—if he can outscore Verstappen by roughly nine points per weekend, he could pull off an upset. After Round 10 in Spain, Verstappen’s lead was 69 points, but since then, Norris has closed the gap by 15 points over the last eight races.
Reflecting on his own championship-winning experience in 2009 with Brawn GP, Button sees similarities with Verstappen’s current situation, recalling the pressure he felt as Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel relentlessly chased him down in the latter half of the season. “The car is obviously not as competitive as it was in the first part of the season, and when someone chases you so mercilessly, it is damn tough,” Button added.
While some might argue that Button’s support for Norris is influenced by national pride, he’s not alone in believing that the title fight is far from over. Guenther Steiner, former Haas F1 Team boss and now a prominent media figure, has echoed Button’s sentiments, even going so far as to suggest that Norris is in a better position than Verstappen to clinch the title.
“I think the title race is wide open between Lando and Max,” Steiner remarked. “At the moment, I think Lando is in a better position to win. He is driving very consistently, while Max seems to be struggling more with his car. This makes it all very interesting.”
Steiner’s comments underscore the fact that the Red Bull RB20, which dominated the first half of the season with seven wins in the first ten races, has recently faltered. This slump has injected fresh excitement into the title fight, with McLaren and Norris capitalizing on the opportunity.
As the F1 circus heads into the high-octane US GP weekend at Circuit of the Americas, all eyes will be on Norris to see if he can keep chipping away at Verstappen’s lead. With three Sprint races still to come, the championship may yet deliver a thrilling twist in its final act.
