Max Verstappen handed overwhelming 'must beat' verdict ahead of São Paulo GP

Max Verstappen has been told in no uncertain terms that he has to beat both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri this weekend if he is to keep his chances alive of a fifth consecutive F1 drivers' title.

From a position of seemingly little hope after his home race in the Netherlands, trailing Piastri by 104 points, Verstappen goes into the sprint and grand prix double-header in São Paulo just 36 points behind new leader Norris, who holds a single-point advantage over his McLaren team-mate.

With just four grands prix remaining, plus two sprints, every weekend is becoming make-or-break for Verstappen to maintain his remarkable pursuit of the McLaren duo that has allowed him this surprising opportunity to retain his championship crown.

The Red Bull driver has won three of the last five races and finished on the podium in the other two, to place himself in contention.

But F1 fans are convinced that Verstappen cannot afford to drop any points this weekend at Interlagos, a circuit where a year ago, he scored arguably the most astonishing victory of his career, taking the chequered flag from 17th on the grid in a rain-hit race.

In our latest RacingNews365 poll, almost 80 per cent of respondents said Verstappen must beat Norris and Piastri in São Paulo, otherwise his title hopes would be over going into the final three races in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with only 83 points up for grabs.

Nearly eight per cent said that Verstappen had to beat Norris only, given the Briton's uptick in form compared to Piastri's slide. The same figure of 7.94% felt that Verstappen could afford to finish behind both and still be in the title fight.

One reader, Keith Ashman, placed himself in the 3.59% unsure category. He wrote: "It will be great if Lando powers on, which I think he will; however, both Piastri and Verstappen will urgently want to improve from the last race. Can never count them out."

It promises to be a fascinating weekend. Stay tuned to RacingNews365 to catch all the news from the weekend, and head over to our YouTube channel for the daily Update videos over the weekend with Nick Golding and lead editor Ian Parkes.