Formula 1 heads to Silverstone with the championship narrative shifting. Max Verstappen‘s retirement in Austria has left the reigning champion 61 points behind Oscar Piastri – a gap that may be too great even for him to overturn, especially in a Red Bull that’s now trailing McLaren on pace.

McLaren arrives as the team to beat once again, with Lando Norris looking to convert his home advantage into a maiden British Grand Prix victory. Having finished on the podium at Silverstone in the past two years, and now just 15 points off the championship lead, the momentum is firmly with the Briton.

Ferrari, buoyed by a much-needed resurgence at the Red Bull Ring, hopes to confirm its progress with another strong result, while Sauber continues its impressive rise into midfield leadership with a fresh upgrade. Williams, meanwhile, returns home under pressure, desperate to recover from a disastrous Austria and a worrying run of form.

Is Verstappen still a championship contender?

His Austrian GP retirement, added to the results of previous races – left Verstappen facing the reality that he is no longer realistically in the championship fight.

The 61-point deficit to Piastri after the Red Bull Ring race means Verstappen would need to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in history if he were to retain the crown to secure his fifth consecutive title.

The gap is significantly larger than the 46-point one Verstappen himself overcame in 2022, which is the modern record for a successful comeback, and even then, he had 19 races to go to recover.

Adjusting the gap to the current points system, only James Hunt’s comeback in 1976 is comparable, and that required Niki Lauda to miss races after his accident.

Granted, there are 13 races left in 2025, which back in 1976 was almost the entire season. There were also no sprint races back then.

So technically, Verstappen’s task is not impossible, given there are still an enormous number of races left.

Statistics aside, the biggest issue Verstappen is facing is a car that is no match for the McLaren, again the favourite going into the British Grand Prix.

With Piastri and Norris consistently fighting for victories, they might steal some points from each other and help Verstappen’s cause, but that won’t be of any use if the world champion keeps finishing behind the McLaren duo.

In the absence of extraordinary circumstances, the reality is that Verstappen can’t realistically be thinking of retaining the title anymore.

Will Norris live up to the favourite tag?

After his Canadian GP mistake, Norris bounced back with the perfect response with a pretty much flawless display in Austria to kick off a vital triple-header in the best possible way.

The McLaren driver is now again just 15 points behind Piastri and has to be seen as favourite to score his first victory in front of his home crowd.

Norris has a strong record at Silverstone in previous years, having finished second in 2023 and third in 2024. He missed out on last year’s win because of strategy and late-race tyre choices.

The British driver is feeling more confident in the car thanks to the upgrade that has improved the front end of the McLaren, and said he’s not feeling any negative pressure from racing at home with the favourite tag.

“It probably distracts me in a good way more than anything, more of a positive distraction, I would say, more than a pressure,” Norris said after Austria.

All the ingredients are there for Norris to keep his momentum going and take the biggest piece of silverware home in front of the British crowd.

Is Ferrari’s progress real?

Ferrari enjoyed one of its most competitive weekends at the Red Bull Ring, emerging — in Verstappen’s absence from the race — as the second-fastest team behind McLaren.

Its strong weekend was down to a combination of factors, not all of them down to the team itself, like Verstappen’s early retirement or Mercedes‘ struggles, but a good execution of the race and an upgrade that appeared to help was also part of it.

Ferrari’s focus on a new floor, front wing, and suspension geometry helped deliver a more consistent performance, and the Scuderia will be hoping to confirm that at Silverstone.