A lot at stake in F1 in the final three races: millions of euros and the fight for runner-up and much more

In the races of Formula 1 recently disputed in Mexico and Brazil the two titles at stake were sealed in the F1. Andrea Kimi Antonelli He became the youngest driver in history to conquer the Drivers championship at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguezand a week later, the Mercedes team celebrated the achievement of the Constructors’ World Cuprecovering the crown for the first time since his last brands scepter, achieved in 2021.

After that, there are still three races to be played before the end of the race. F1 World Cup 2026and although the two titles have already been decided, there is still a lot at stake. And above all, many millions still without a definitive owner in the Constructors’ World Cup.

The runner-up: five drivers in the fight

The battle for the runner-up in the Drivers’ World Cup It’s burning. There are up to 5 drivers (2nd to 6th) in just 33 points, with 75 still up for grabs. Max Verstappen leads that group in second place in the championship, with 279 pointsafter making up many positions since Red Bull improved its car a lot in Baku.

There, Max went from driving a complicated car, with which he had not been able to achieve victories until then, although he had done wonders to achieve 6 podiums in 14 races, to having a winning car in his hands. From there, he has been on the podium in the six races he has competed with these new pieces, three of them with victories. And the rise in the classification has been enormous. After the Spanish GP in Madring, Max was 6th in the World Championship with 145 points, 66 points behind Russell, 46 behind Hamilton, 41 behind Norris and 22 behind Leclerc..

Now, six races later, Verstappen is 2nd with 279 points and has been able to almost scoring the same points in the last six races (134) as in the previous 14 (145). So, Verstappen beats by 17 points Russell (3rd), is 18 ahead of Lewis Hamilton, 30 ahead of Leclerc and 33 ahead of Lando Norris.

It will be interesting to see if anyone can respond to the huge improvement of Maxand if mercedes He will now focus on helping George Russell achieve that runner-up finish, now that nothing more is at stake in signing the star. It will also be interesting to see how that fight finally ends and which drivers occupy third, fourth, fifth and sixth place in the overall final of the World Championship in Abu Dhabi.

The millions of the Constructors’ World Cup: several fronts

In this World Cup final there are many millions at stake. And there is a big difference between finishing 2nd or 3rd, for example: the runner-up takes 131 million dollars, while the third takes 122 million, nine less.

That fight is the one that Ferrari and Red Bull will fight in these three final eventswith those in red starting with an important advantage. There is a maximum of 129 points at stake (25 for the win and 18th for the 2nd place), and for now, Ferrari has a margin of 95 points against Red Bull.

Those from Milton Keynes need Max to sweep and Hadjar to be very consistent up front and expect a poor performance from Ferrari. Meanwhile, those in red will have to improve their teamwork to avoid wasting golden opportunities like the one in Mexico due to the battle between their two drivers, Leclerc and Hamilton.

The fight for third place in the Constructors’ World Championship is much tighter. Red Bull has 415 points and McLaren (398) is just 17 points behind. McLaren increased the pressure in Brazil by being the only team that introduced improvements so close to the end of the year and Norris was able to win, but they will need Piastri to greatly improve his results. The third best team in the World Cup earns 122 million, and the 4th, 113 (nine less).

Another of the most exciting fights will be the one between Haas and Audi for 7th place. The 7th of Constructors takes 86 million dollars, compared to 77 of the 8th (difference of nine). Haas has 31 points, compared to Audi’s 28. Haas is also risking that loot with one of its two inexperienced drivers: Camara and Hirakawa, who should alternate driving in these last rounds to accompany Bearman since Camara should fight for the F2 title in the last two rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

For its part, Williams is 9th with 12 points, 5 more than an Aston Martin that is unlikely to qualify for more points this season. The 9th earns 68 million, compared to the 60 of the penultimate.

On the other hand, the teams have more hours of wind tunnel and CFD simulation for the creation and development of their cars based on their worst position in Constructors.

7th place and the Top-10 Drivers

With Piastri in 7th place overall with 152 points, Isack Hadjar will try to assault that position. The Frenchman is 30 points behind the Australian McLaren with a Red Bull very competitive. For his part, it seems unlikely that the Frenchman could lose his 8th place to the driver of the ‘B’ team of energy drinks, Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), since he is 9th with 33 points, too much for Liam who does not have one of the 4 best cars on the grid.

Behind them, one of the interesting battles is the one that will be fought to finish in the final Top-10: Pierre Gaslywith the Alpineoccupies that 10th place with 42 points, with only 4 points ahead of the ‘rookie’ Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls).

Drivers tied on points

Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg have 14 points each and both Audi teammates will fight to finish ahead of the other in the fight for 14th place.

Ocon, Alonso and Sainz are also tied with 7 pointswith a Esteban who will no longer get into the Haas again, Fernando and Carlos They will play for that position, although neither of them cares about finishing 16th, or 17th in the World Cup.