Verstappen eyes Qatar hat-trick as Norris remains title favourite

Max Verstappen is seeking a hat-trick of wins at the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend as this year's Formula One world championship reaches boiling point in the Arabian Gulf.

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But he will know, better than most, that even with luck on his side, he is unlikely to overhaul a 24-point deficit that separates him from McLaren's Lando Norris as they approach the final two events of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Despite being disqualified, along with McLaren teammate and title rival Oscar Plastri, after finishing second at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last Sunday, Norris arrives in Qatar as favourite to lift his first title and clinch McLaren's first team and driver double since Mika Hakkinen's success in 1998.

The 26-year-old Briton, on 390 points, needs only to hold his nerve and outscore his rivals - both on 366 with Piastri ahead by virtue of seven wins to six - by two points to leave Qatar as champion on Sunday night.

Of the three, Norris is the only one who has an opportunity to take the crown this weekend as the season reaches what former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson described as “squeaky bum time”.