Norris has just won Brazil. Verstappen has won three of the last five races. Russell reached three before either of them. Now they’re level, with Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi left to break the tie.
Lando Norris’ victory at Interlagos created a neat coincidence with a competitive edge: three drivers, representing three teams, now have three Grand Prix wins each. And there are three races remaining.
Norris, Max Verstappen and George Russell have arrived at the same number through very different seasons. With both championships decided, their race to a fourth victory gives the final stretch another contest worth following.
Same total, different momentum
Russell got there first. He won the season opener in Australia, added Austria and reached three in Azerbaijan. While teammate Kimi Antonelli collected the victories that built his championship, Russell supplied three of Mercedes’ own.
Verstappen’s wins came much later and closer together. His breakthrough arrived at the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia, followed by Singapore and Mexico. That’s three victories in the last five races, with podium finishes in the other two.
Brazil added another reason to take that form seriously. Starting 21st, Verstappen recovered to second. He couldn’t catch Norris, but a back-row start barely kept him out of the fight at the front.
Norris completed the trio on Sunday. Hungary and the Netherlands had provided his first two wins; Brazil brought the third after he recovered from a poor start and managed the changing conditions.
Their totals match. Their routes there certainly don’t.
The champion is still in their way
There’s one important complication: Antonelli has nine wins.
The championship being settled doesn’t remove the season’s most successful driver from contention. Nor does this three-way tie exclude Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who have each won once this year.
Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi offer three opportunities, not three victories reserved for Norris, Verstappen and Russell.
That’s what makes the question worth asking. Verstappen has the strongest recent winning run. Norris has the latest victory. Russell has already shown he can win in the championship-winning Mercedes.
Three wins have brought them level. Who gets to four first?
