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Insider Says 2025 F1 Title Race Will Be a Two-Way Fight Without Verstappen

Insider Says 2025 F1 Title Race Will Be a Two-Way Fight Without Verstappen

Newsweek3 days ago
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Former driver and Sky Sports F1 presenter Martin Brundle has predicted that the final 2025 Drivers' Championship battle will take place between McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. If the claim turns out to be true later in the season, it would be the first championship fight without Max Verstappen since 2020.
The 2024 season marked the resurgence of teams such as Mercedes and Ferrari in the current ground effect era. However, McLaren's impact was felt the most, as Norris came quite close to winning the title but lost out to Verstappen in Las Vegas. The Papaya outfit still managed to win the Constructors' Championship.
The 2025 season seems like the year of the McLarens, given both Piastri and Norris occupy the top two positions in the Drivers' Standings in the same order. The Woking-based outfit revamped the MCL39 F1 car for the current year, and the efforts seem to have paid off.
McLaren has dominated most races of the season thus far as Red Bull continues to face challenges with its RB21. The recent ousting of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner could add to the team's challenges, and it remains to be seen how his replacement, Laurent Mekies, ensures the team gets back to its winning ways.
McLaren's British driver Lando Norris takes the lead at the start of the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring race track in Spielberg, Austria, on June 29, 2025.
McLaren's British driver Lando Norris takes the lead at the start of the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring race track in Spielberg, Austria, on June 29, 2025.
MAX SLOVENCIK/APA/AFP/Getty Images
Considering the way McLaren has been gaining in both championships, and with Verstappen being third in the drivers' title with a 61-point deficit to Norris, Brundle claimed that the fight for the title will be between the two McLaren drivers. He wrote in his Sky F1 column:
"With the Ferrari boys, Verstappen and Russell having a more difficult day, and with the McLaren duo a full two seconds faster per lap than the rest of the field in some phases, as Silverstone marks the halfway point of the season, albeit with four of the six Sprint races remaining, it seems the Drivers' Championship showdown will indeed be between Piastri and Norris, and we can expect some fireworks there."
Brundle then highlighted Piastri's radio message during the last stage of the British Grand Prix, requesting McLaren to swap positions. Piastri led the race initially but dropped to P2 behind Norris after to a 10-second penalty for a safety car infringement. However, McLaren refused to hand out team orders. Brundle added:
"That's the first time we've seen the angry side of the calm silent Aussie assassin. Oscar's radio call for the places to be swapped if the team thought he'd received an unfair penalty was more than cheeky, though."
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