Lando Norris is in danger of saying goodbye to his hopes of defending the Formula 1 world title this weekend. The Briton could lose his crown six rounds before the end of the 2026 season if the development of the race in Singapore turns out to be unfavorable for him.
Norris currently occupies sixth place in the general standings and has a deficit of 132 points to the leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli. To be eliminated from the title race after the “Marina Bay“ race, the gap between the two must reach at least 150 points.
In such a scenario, the British driver would not be able to mathematically catch up with Antonelli in the remaining six races and would lose the opportunity to defend his championship title.
This would put Norris in curious statistical company. If he were to drop out of the race in Singapore, he would be the first reigning world champion since Jenson Button in 2010 to fail to make a single successful defense of his title.
This statistic does not include Nico Rosberg. The German won the championship in 2016, but just days after his triumph he announced his retirement from Formula 1 and thus never launched an attempt to defend the crown.
The upcoming race in Singapore could therefore end Norris' championship ambitions long before the end of the season.