Max Verstappen suffered the closest-ever F1 title defeat in 2025, despite his late heroics to come within just two points of a stunning comeback.
From 104 points behind leader Oscar Piastri after the Dutch GP, Verstappen won six of the final nine races and bagged a second and two thirds plus a Sprint win to end on 421 points, just two behind champion Lando Norris on 423.
Piastri's late wobble had him finish on 410 points in F1's first three-way finale since 2010.
Although Verstappen's defeat was not the closest in terms of points scored, the Dutchman's points margin % deficit to Norris is the closest in the 76 seasons of the world championship.
To calculate the percentages, the total number of points scored by the runner-up (Verstappen 421) was divided by the champion's score (423 for Norris). This was then multiplied by 100 to find the percentage of points scored, with this coming as Verstappen scoring 99.527% of Norris's points.
When this is taken away from 100, it gives a points margin percentage of 0.473%, eclipsing the 1984 record of 0.694% between Niki Lauda and Alain Prost.
In terms of points difference, Lauda's 0.5 point success over Prost that year remains the smallest margin to decide the world championship, with a further eight decided by one point.
Norris's triumph was the fifth time a drivers' title has been decided by exactly two points, following Nelson Piquet in 1983, Prost in 1986, Mika Hakkinen in 1999, and Michael Schumacher in 2003.
Closest-ever F1 standings by point margin
| Rank | Year | Runner-up (Points) | Champion (Points) | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2025 | Max Verstappen (421) | Lando Norris (423) | 0.473% |
| 2nd | 1984 | Alain Prost (71.5) | Niki Lauda (72) | 0.694% |
| 3rd | 2007 | Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso (109) | Kimi Raikkonen (110) | 0.909% |
| 4th | 2008 | Felipe Massa (97) | Lewis Hamilton (98) | 1.020% |
| 5th | 2012 | Fernando Alonso (278) | Sebastian Vettel (281) | 1.068% |
| 6th | 1994 | Damon Hill (91) | Michael Schumacher (92) | 1.087% |
| 7th | 2016 | Lewis Hamilton (380) | Nico Rosberg (385) | 1.299% |
| 8th | 1976 | Niki Lauda (68) | James Hunt (69) | 1.449% |
| 9th | 2010 | Fernando Alonso (252) | Sebastian Vettel (256) | 1.563% |
| 10th | 1981 | Carlos Reutemann (49) | Nelson Piquet (50) | 2.000% |
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