Leclerc, for the title we need to recover 11 points per GP from Max

Monza changes everything

Formula 1 hasn’t had such a balanced and particular season in many years: there’s the champion who remains the leader but whose team is in technical crisis (Verstappen) and a myriad of pursuers who alternate behind him, sticking their heads out and then being pushed back under water by some other rival. Before Monza, points in hand, it seemed that only Lando Norris could have real – albeit slim – hopes of worrying the Dutch champion until the grand finale in Abu Dhabi.

Charles Leclerc’s fantastic victory in the Italian GP, ​​Red Bull’s never-ending problems and Norris’ own inability to fully realise the potential of the MCL38 have however drawn a much more interesting ranking: Verstappen has reduced his lead over Norris to 62 points, who in turn has a margin of just 24 over the Monegasque. It is difficult, at least arithmetically, to consider Norris in the running and exclude anyone who is less than a full victory behind the Englishman.

Difficult accounts to add up

Of course, points are not the only thing to look at: Overall, the McLaren appears even faster and more complete than the Ferrarialthough the updates have given a good boost to the two SF-24s. The next two races, Baku and Singapore, are however very interesting on paper for Ferrari, who could think of obtaining further successes. But can Leclerc really think big? And, if so, what should the Monegasque do to arrive in Abu Dhabi with a chance of overtaking Verstappen?

There are still eight GPs on the calendar, plus three Sprint races. There are still 232 points up for grabs. Leclerc to win the world championship should recover an average of 10.75 (so, in fact, 11) points per race from Verstappen. To stay ahead of Norris, it would be enough to nibble away three points from the Englishman each weekend. The problem for Leclerc is that not having your destiny in your own hands. Even if he won all the GPs (with fastest lap) and all the Sprints, Leclerc would not be certain of being champion.

Nothing to lose

Obviously these are ‘academic’ exercises and At the moment it is difficult to imagine a single driver capable of winning all of the last eight rounds of the championship. The many ups and downs of the last few months, which have affected all the teams, make us think that Achieving significant point gains in individual races is not at all impossibleFerrari and Leclerc have nothing to lose, but after the magical gamble at Monza, daring is no longer a taboo word.