The McLaren driver trails Max Verstappen by 62 points with three races, and a maximum of 86 points, remaining in the season.
It’s a comfortable margin for the three-time world champion, but not an insurmountable one and Norris could still steal it away.
To do that, he must first keep the fight alive beyond Vegas.
At 62 points down, and a maximum of 60 remaining beyond this weekend, Norris must therefore be no more than 59 points off Verstappen some Saturday evening.
Quite simply, Norris must finish ahead of Verstappen in Vegas, though there are a few permutations to that equation.
If Norris were to win the race, the championship would carry on to Qatar next weekend no matter what.
He must also finish eighth or better to have any hope of continuing the fight, but a place anywhere lower than first will see the fate of the title rest of Verstappen’s finishing position.
Should Norris finish second and Verstappen not win, the Dutchman could claim the title by finishing third and taking the bonus point for the fastest lap.
The same is true if Norris is third and Verstappen is fourth as, at worst, Verstappen would won in a countback.
Should the Red Bull Racing driver not score the bonus point for fastest lap, the title fight will continue, with 59 points between them.
From fourth to eighth, provided Norris finishes two places ahead of his title rival, the championship fight will also continue.
Strangely, Norris scoring fastest lap does little to the calculations and serves only to close the gap to Verstappen by a single point – it cannot in itself influence the outcome of the title race as it can for Verstappen.
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That would leave him 36 points back heading into Qatar with 60 still on the table.
The best case scenario for Norris is he wins the race and takes the bonus point for fastest lap while Verstappen fails to finish.
However, should the three-time champion beat the Englishman to the chequered flag in any position, he will win the world championship.
How Lando Norris can keep the Formula 1 world championship alive
| Lando Norris position | Max Verstappen position | Championship Outcome |
| 1 | 2 | Title fight continues |
| 2 | 3 | Title fight continues UNLESS Verstappen gets fastest lap |
| 3 | 4 | Title fight continues UNLESS Verstappen gets fastest lap |
| 4 | 6 | Title fight continues |
| 5 | 7 | Title fight continues |
| 6 | 8 | Title fight continues |
| 7 | 9 | Title fight continues |
| 8 | 10 | Title fight continues |
| 9 | Verstappen wins world championship | |
| 10 | Verstappen wins world championship |
