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"Greatest choke of all time": McLaren's F1 humiliation
Emily Benammar • November 27th, 2025 12:34 pm
If McLaren fails to come away from the 2025 F1 season without a world champion it will go down as "one of the greatest chokes of all time".
Lando Norris is the current leader in the drivers' championship with Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen equal in second, but the double McLaren disqualification at the Las Vegas Grand Prix blew the race for the title wide open.
Norris currently leads by 24 points with two races and a sprint left on the calendar meaning all three drivers are mathematically in contention to be crowned world champion.
For McLaren, who have already secured the constructors' title for 2025, not winning the individual accolade would be a dour reflection on a season in which both their drivers have dominated.
After winning the Dutch Grand Prix in September, Piastri led the standings with a 34-point advantage over his teammate while Verstappen was more than 100 points behind.
The Aussie's capitulation together with Norris and Verstappen's surge in form has turned everything on its head and McLaren staring down the barrel of humiliation.
"Max Verstappen was rated at 10 per cent chance of winning the title in Singapore (October 5)," F1 expert Cameron Van Den Dungen told SEN Breakfast this week.
"Here we are with two races to go and he is tied on points with Piastri. It’s incredible.
"If he comes from the clouds to win a world championship, the majority of that would lie on McLaren. It would be one of the greatest chokes of all time if they didn’t come home with the championship."
As things stand, Norris needs to outscore Piastri and Verstappen by two points in Qatar to win his maiden title. But the Brit is notorious for buckling under pressure.
For much of the season he has been chasing his teammate, now as leader, he is prone to making error as he did in Sin City before the disqualification.
Losing his nerve on turn one he relinquished the lead to Verstappen and never regained it.
"Max does not make mistakes," Van Den Dungen added. "Lando has shown that under pressure he is prone to make mistake.
"Both McLaren drivers have and that doesn’t bode well for them and the team with Max so close going into the last two races McLaren cannot put a foot wrong."
