What do Norris, Piastri & Verstappen need to win F1 title?

Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max VerstappenGetty Images

Following a thrilling race in Qatar on Sunday night, the reigning F1 world champion will advance to Abu Dhabi for the weekend’s final race.

Lando Norris, a Brit who wants to win his first world title, is currently in the lead with 408 points.

Max Verstappen, the four-time champion, is now 12 points clear of 396 in the wake of his victory in Qatar, while Oscar Piastri, Norris’ teammate, is only four more points clear of 392 at the finish line.

The title is up for grabs for all three with 25 points available for Abu Dhabi’s first place finish.

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Lando Norris

No matter where his rivals finish, Norris will win the world championship if he finishes first, second, or third in Abu Dhabi, to put it simply: No matter where Norris is the leader in the standings.

Additionally, he wins the title if he finishes ahead of both Verstappen and Piastri despite not placing first.

Any other scenario in which Norris must finish within Verstappen’s 12 points and Piastri’s 16 to claim the championship would require him to finish within Verstappen’s 16 points in Abu Dhabi.

Max Verstappen

Verstappen must win in Abu Dhabi, and Norris must finish fourth or worse, for his best chance to win.

Oscar Piastri

If Norris or Piastri wins the title in Abu Dhabi and Piastri wins, Piastri will win.

However, for him to win the title, Verstappen must finish in fourth or worse and Piastri finishes in second place.

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Aspinall diagnosed with rare eye condition

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More than a month after picking up the injury while defending his heavyweight title at UFC 321, Tom Aspinall has been diagnosed with a rare condition in both eyes. He is not yet ready to return to action.

When Ciryl Gane attempted a punch late in the first round of their fight in Abu Dhabi on October 25, his French opponent accidentally poked the Briton in the both eyes.

Aspinall, 32, was unable to continue, and despite being turned down for a no-contest, he still had his belt.

Aspinall has been diagnosed with “significant traumatic bilateral Brown’s syndrome” and continues to have “persistent” double vision, according to a medical report released on his Instagram account.

The eye cannot move upwards, especially when looking inward, according to Brown’s syndrome.

Aspinall is still receiving medical clearance for combat action, and special treatment is ongoing.

According to the report, “Depending on clinical progression, targeted periocular]movement] impairment [to address persistent motility] may be required [to treat] steroid injections or surgical intervention to address persistent motility [movement] impairment.

Aspinall thanked followers for their ongoing “love, support, and memes” in a post on Instagram, and promised to update his YouTube channel on Sunday night with more details.

After the Aspinall incident, veteran MMA referee Herb Dean stated earlier in November that authorities will look to more frequently impose point deductions for eye pokes.

Instead of denying Gane, 35, a foul, the referee chose to hold the fight as a no-contest.

He decided the incident was unintentional rather than an accident by labeling the fight a no-contest.

Aspinall would have profited from a disqualification.

In an effort to reduce eye injuries, cuts, and cuts, UFC gloves are fingerless, and the organization introduced redesigned gloves in June 2024.

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Verstappen wins Qatar GP to keep F1 world championship alive with Norris

After winning the penultimate race of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, four-time Formula One (F1) world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri kept the three-way 2025 drivers’ championship battle alive.

Verstappen’s lead over McLaren’s Norris, who finished fourth at Lusail Circuit, was 12 points clear of Verstappen heading into the 24th and final round of Abu Dhabi the following weekend.

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Piastri, Norris’ teammate, finished second in the championship race after taking the lead from pole. However, the Australian still has a chance to claim the drivers’ title.

Verstappen and Piastri finished third, Carlos Sainz of Williams, in Qatar, to round out the podium.

Verstappen won his 70th grand prix career.

For the 2025 season, the top three drivers currently have seven victories.

On November 30, 2025, at the Lusail Circuit in Qatar, Max Verstappen leads the race. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

McLaren makes a mistake in a call for early safety in a car.

Verstappen, who started the race from third place on the grid, overtook Piastri in the holeshot to the first corner, who was then followed by Norris on the front row.

Verstappen and Red Bull pitted against each other during lap seven, which gave way to a free pit stop, in contrast to McLaren, which kept its two drivers off the track, resulting in Norris and Piastri losing valuable time when they reached their final stop.

Verstappen’s control of the 57-lap contest continued as a result, with the Dutchman advancing past Piastri by just under eight seconds.

Piastri rebuffed his claim that “we did not get it right tonight.”

“I attempted to drive as quickly as I could, but it was not. Retrospectively, it seems pretty obvious what we should have done, but we’ll talk about it together. The Australian continued, “It’s a little difficult to swallow right now.”

Verstappen remarked, “A fantastic race for us. We placed the appropriate call beneath that safety car. A strong race for us during a difficult weekend.

Verstappen will look to make history by winning the final race at Yas Marina over Lewis Hamilton on the final lap following a contentious 2021 result.

Verstappen, who had earlier downed his chances earlier this season, said, “It’s possible now, but we will see.” “I don’t really worry too much about it,” he said.

Max Verstappen in action.
Max Verstappen completes the podium at the Lusail International Circuit for the Formula One Qatar Grand Prix.

Are Villa overreliant on record number of long-range goals?

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  • 113 Comments

Aston Villa continues to march under the direction of Unai Emery.

Wolves’ victory was unconvincing. Boubacar Kamara, the midfielder who arrowed a shot into the top corner from 20 yards to settle the game, had the only thing to prove.

Even though talk of an unexpected title fight may seem fantasy at this point, Villa could soon be in the conversation as Arsenal’s closest rivals. It brought them to third place in the Premier League.

In contrast to a difficult start that saw them lose their 12-month unbeaten home record and exit the Carabao Cup before the end of September, they have won seven of their previous eight top-flight games.

The most of any Villa team’s 16 Premier League goals this season have come from outside the box, making nine out of the field.

The most recent in a long-range strike series was Kamara’s blockbuster, which found its top corner.

In order to help Villa rise to the top three, Matty Cash, Emi Buendia, and Morgan Rogers have tapped the net from a distance.

Wolves have not scored in the last seven goals from outside the box, trailing only Arsenal by two.

Villa’s success is not a coincidence for Emery, who meticulously prioritizes detail and demands perfection.

The players are being clinical and shooting very well, but our demand is obviously more options to try to score goals, he said.

“We need to add goals in various ways,” he said.

They are practicing a lot during training, he continued, adding, “And shooting like that.”

In Premier League history, Villa are the only team to have scored more than half of their goals from outside the box at this point.

Are they at risk of overrelying on distant goals, though?

Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score another blank after the longest goal drought of his Villa career, which included 11 consecutive goals.

Donyell Malen, who scored twice against Young Boys on Thursday in the Europa League match, also rarely threatened.

Emery responded, “We are working and analysing everything,” when asked about a reliance on outside the box goals. We discussed it, of course.

We needed goals last year. With goals]difference], we fell short of the top five. I’m always concerned about something or something that needs to be improved.

We are attempting to identify areas where we have been weak or where we can clearly improve, even when we are winning, according to our demands.

We aren’t scoring many goals, they say. We are now getting the balance between competing. We are keeping clean sheets while maintaining our defensive strength. We want to get goals and get numbers for each.

Kamara scored the only other Premier League goal for Villa in his 81 appearance.

Boubacar Kamara's scores from the edge of the area.Images courtesy of Getty

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  • Aston Villa
  • Premier League
  • Football

How Villa have relied on record number of long-range goals

Images courtesy of Getty
  • 206 Comments

Aston Villa continues to march under the direction of Unai Emery.

Wolves’ victory was unconvincing. Boubacar Kamara, the midfielder who arrowed a shot into the top corner from 20 yards to settle the game, had the only thing to prove.

Even though talk of an unexpected title fight may seem fantasy at this point, Villa could soon be in the conversation as Arsenal’s closest rivals. It brought them to third place in the Premier League.

In contrast to a difficult start that saw them lose their 12-month unbeaten home record and exit the Carabao Cup before the end of September, they have won seven of their previous eight top-flight games.

The most of any Villa team’s 16 Premier League goals this season have come from outside the box, making nine out of the field.

The most recent in a long-range strike series was Kamara’s blockbuster, which found its top corner.

In order to help Villa rise to the top three, Matty Cash, Emi Buendia, and Morgan Rogers have tapped the net from a distance.

Wolves have not scored in the last seven goals from outside the box, trailing only Arsenal by two.

Villa’s success is not a coincidence for Emery, who meticulously prioritizes detail and demands perfection.

The players are being clinical and shooting very well, but our demand is obviously more options to try to score goals, he said.

“We need to add goals in various ways,” he said.

They are practicing a lot during training, he continued, adding, “And shooting like that.”

In Premier League history, Villa are the only team to have scored more than half of their goals from outside the box at this point.

Are they at risk of overrelying on distant goals, though?

Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score another blank after the longest goal drought of his Villa career, which included 11 consecutive goals.

Donyell Malen, who scored twice against Young Boys on Thursday in the Europa League match, also rarely threatened.

Emery responded, “We are working and analysing everything,” when asked about a reliance on outside the box goals. We discussed it, of course.

We needed goals last year. With goals]difference], we fell short of the top five. I’m always concerned about something or something that needs to be improved.

We are attempting to identify areas where we have been weak or where we can clearly improve, even when we are winning, according to our demands.

We aren’t scoring many goals, they say. We are now getting the balance between competing. We are keeping clean sheets while maintaining our defensive strength. We want to get goals and get numbers for each.

Kamara scored the only other Premier League goal for Villa in his 81 appearance.

Boubacar Kamara's scores from the edge of the area.Images courtesy of Getty

related subjects

  • Aston Villa
  • Premier League
  • Football

How Villa have relied on record number of long-range goals

Images courtesy of Getty
  • 206 Comments

Aston Villa continues to march under the direction of Unai Emery.

Wolves’ victory was unconvincing. Boubacar Kamara, the midfielder who arrowed a shot into the top corner from 20 yards to settle the game, had the only thing to prove.

Even though talk of an unexpected title fight may seem fantasy at this point, Villa could soon be in the conversation as Arsenal’s closest rivals. It brought them to third place in the Premier League.

In contrast to a difficult start that saw them lose their 12-month unbeaten home record and exit the Carabao Cup before the end of September, they have won seven of their previous eight top-flight games.

The most of any Villa team’s 16 Premier League goals this season have come from outside the box, making nine out of the field.

The most recent in a long-range strike series was Kamara’s blockbuster, which found its top corner.

In order to help Villa rise to the top three, Matty Cash, Emi Buendia, and Morgan Rogers have tapped the net from a distance.

Wolves have not scored in the last seven goals from outside the box, trailing only Arsenal by two.

Villa’s success is not a coincidence for Emery, who meticulously prioritizes detail and demands perfection.

The players are being clinical and shooting very well, but our demand is obviously more options to try to score goals, he said.

“We need to add goals in various ways,” he said.

They are practicing a lot during training, he continued, adding, “And shooting like that.”

In Premier League history, Villa are the only team to have scored more than half of their goals from outside the box at this point.

Are they at risk of overrelying on distant goals, though?

Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score another blank after the longest goal drought of his Villa career, which included 11 consecutive goals.

Donyell Malen, who scored twice against Young Boys on Thursday in the Europa League match, also rarely threatened.

Emery responded, “We are working and analysing everything,” when asked about a reliance on outside the box goals. We discussed it, of course.

We needed goals last year. With goals]difference], we fell short of the top five. I’m always concerned about something or something that needs to be improved.

We are attempting to identify areas where we have been weak or where we can clearly improve, even when we are winning, according to our demands.

We aren’t scoring many goals, they say. We are now getting the balance between competing. We are keeping clean sheets while maintaining our defensive strength. We want to get goals and get numbers for each.

Kamara scored the only other Premier League goal for Villa in his 81 appearance.

Boubacar Kamara's scores from the edge of the area.Images courtesy of Getty

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  • Aston Villa
  • Premier League
  • Football