A fan-made simulator allows fellow fans the opportunity to predict how the run-in to the 2025 championship might play out.

Days after the Dutch Grand Prix, F1 fan Taras Lanchev posted a link to his F1 Championship Simulator on r/formula1. The tool allows users to assign finishing places for the remaining races and sprint sessions and then see how the championship standings would change.

The response was instantaneous: more than one hundred thousand people had tried it within twenty-four hours and soon fans were swapping their most outlandish scenarios.

Why did it resonate? Because the 2025 season is delicately poised. Oscar Piastri currently heads the drivers' standings on 336 points, his team mate Lando Norris is 22 behind with Max Verstappen third on 273 and George Russell fourth for Mercedes on 237.

While the constructors' title is settled, Mercedes is currently looking good for runner-up with 325 points but could Red Bull leapfrog struggling Ferrari for third?

For readers who enjoy the "what if" game, the simulator turns those pub conversations into something concrete. Want to see what happens if George Russell wins every remaining sprint? Curious whether a Ferrari resurgence could lift Charles Leclerc into the top three? Or just want to check what it would take for your favourite midfield driver to leap up the table? It's as simple as dropping their name into first, second or third and watching the table update. The tool uses the official points structure, including sprints.

The Reddit thread where the simulator was shared highlights another aspect: fans' recognition of McLaren's dominance. After Taras first posted the link following the Dutch Grand Prix one user wrote that a win and a podium at Baku might be enough for the Woking team to wrap up the constructors' championship with seven weekends left. Another projected that if the front runners finish in the same order for the rest of the year Piastri would take the crown by just four points. Others used the tool to conjure improbably heroic runs from Alexander Albon and Kimi Antonelli.

Taras did not expect any of this. "I built it for myself so I could visualise whether Norris still had a shot," he says. "When I put it on Reddit people started sharing their own scenarios and it snowballed from there."

The fact that it is free, simple to use and created by a fan rather than a commercial outfit has certainly added to its appeal.

With six races left and up to 174 points available there is still plenty to come.

Indeed, as the championship fight approaches its climax, Taras is adding the ability to show the points delta between the leader and every other driver, in order to make the standings a bit clearer.

If you fancy trying your hand at championship maths the tool is available here for anyone to use.