Norris can still avoid finishing the season outside the top five

Lando Norris risks ending his Formula 1 title defence outside the top five, an outcome that would be a first for a reigning champion, according to Motorsport.com. Crowned champion in 2025, the Briton is currently sixth on 201 points, with six races left on the calendar. The outlet says that finishing sixth or lower would put him in that unprecedented position.

The standings remain open, however. Norris is only 14 points behind Charles Leclerc in fifth and 20 behind Max Verstappen, who is ahead of him in fourth. Those gaps leave him a chance to climb back up, even though no sprint-race weekends remain this season. He will need to make up ground over the final six rounds to return to the top five.

His difficulties behind the wheel help explain the challenge of defending his title. After finishing fourth at the Singapore Grand Prix, Norris told the media: “The car’s not quick enough and it’s too difficult to drive. We’re a long way off.” Team principal Andrea Stella, meanwhile, stressed that the car had to be assessed as a whole: “You have to always look at the package, you know?”

SportNestra’s standings, after 17 of the 23 rounds of the 2026 world championship, also place Norris sixth. They credit him with two wins and 201 points, 139 fewer than leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has 340. Six rounds remain. Those standings show the scale of the gap to the front, while Norris’s deficit to the drivers immediately ahead is considerably smaller. He can still avoid the scenario outlined by Motorsport.com, but has fewer opportunities to turn things around as the season nears its end.