Jenson Button has told fans that "you have to watch now" as he named his favourite to become the 2025 F1 world champion.
A maximum haul for Max Verstappen in the United States of 33 points, coupled with championship leader Oscar Piastri crashing out of Turn 1 of the sprint and then finishing a distant fifth on Sunday, means Verstappen now trails by only 40 points.
Just four races ago, Piastri held a 104-point lead over Verstappen, but a third in Italy, DNF in Azerbaijan, fourth in Singapore and fifth in Austin have seen that reduced by 64 points, with Verstappen claiming three wins in the last five races in the upgraded Red Bull.
Lando Norris is also in contention, now just 12 points behind his team-mate Piastri, with 141 points left on the table in the final five races, including two Sprints.
Analysing the closing of the points situation, 2009 champion Button sent a clear message as the title race intensifies.
"If you haven't been watching Formula 1, you have to watch Formula 1 now, because this is an epic end to the season," Button explained on Sky Sports F1.
"Watch Formula 1 because this is going to be an amazing end of the year. You've got two guys fighting for their first world championship and a four-time world champion.
"I would actually say Lando, at the moment, is looking the strongest. He's got confidence, and I think it will come to him in terms of the car over the next few races. I would say Lando [for the world championship].
"But then Max is coming strong, isn't he?"
Fellow pundit Danica Patrick was then asked for her title tip, and gave the nod to Verstappen.
"I'm going to say Max honestly," she said.
"When Max gets out front, when his car is good, look at his qualifying for the [US Grand Prix], three-tenths ahead of second, which was Lando, and he was struggling, he said.
"But still, three tenths, these are starting to get like old, Max form numbers."
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!