From a 104-point deficit to just 40 in four race weekends, Max Verstappen is on a charge, but it is one that could result in a fifth successive F1 World Championship title?<\/p>\n
The PlanetF1.com crew has its say on the McLaren v McLaren v Verstappen title fight\u2026<\/p>\n
Not too little, but definitely too late<\/p>\n
By Michelle Foster<\/p>\n
What a difference a few race weekends can make.<\/p>\n
McLaren has been screaming from the pulpit as it raced towards the double, watch out for Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n
But 104 points down after the Dutch Grand Prix, let\u2019s be honest, no one was listening anymore.<\/p>\n
It seems more of a case of McLaren trying to make something out of nothing, trying to convince F1 fans that there was a title fight to be had, that the season was not a dead rubber.<\/p>\n
Seems McLaren know more than we do.<\/p>\n
Red Bull\u2019s post-summer break charge, boosted by a new floor introduced at the Italian Grand Prix, has unlocked the potential of the RB21.<\/p>\n
The team, it must be said, has also been helped by McLaren\u2019s lack of upgrades. And it didn\u2019t even lead to a convergence, it led \u2013 the on-track results say \u2013 to a complete overhaul.<\/p>\n
Three grand prix wins, and a runner-up result, along with a P1 in the Sprint have seen Verstappen drop just seven points in four weekends to close the gap on championship leader Piastri from 104 points to 40. That\u2019s monumental in four races.<\/p>\n
But with just five weekends, two of which are Sprints, remaining, time is running out for Verstappen.<\/p>\n
Yes, he has taken 66 points out of Piastri\u2019s lead in four weekends but to take another 40 in the final five, he\u2019d need the McLaren driver to completely implode.<\/p>\n
While Piastri is showing signs of frailty, and more worryingly a lack of understanding as to why he\u2019s suddenly lost pace, a 100-point swing seems unlikely \u2013 even for a driver of Verstappen\u2019s calibre.<\/p>\n
Piastri won\u2019t continue to fumble the next five weekends, and even if he does, Lando Norris is there to pick up the pieces as he\u2019s still 26 points ahead of Verstappen. The Red Bull driver is still up against a two-driver challenge from McLaren.<\/p>\n
My prediction is that Piastri will win the World title, but by virtue of his early season form more than his late season results.<\/p>\n
McLaren will pay for lack of ruthlessness<\/p>\n
By Sam Cooper<\/p>\n
When the loudspeakers at Abu Dhabi play \u2018DU DU DU DUUU\u2019 out into the night air, McLaren will only have themselves to blame.<\/p>\n
There is a sense of inevitability about Verstappen\u2019s 2025 title charge.<\/p>\n
He has won three of the last four races with Red Bull\u2019s bogey track of Singapore the only thing preventing him from a clean sweep. He has taken a 104-point deficit and reduced it to 40. This time in a week, it could be as low as 15.<\/p>\n
There is a line in The Wire that \u2018you come at the king, you best not miss\u2019 and if it is Verstappen that lifts the trophy at the FIA prizegiving gala this year, McLaren will rue not delivering the killing blow.<\/p>\n
While they have tried to be as fair as they believe possible with their two drivers, their desire to do so has resulted in a lack of ruthlessness.<\/p>\n
If this were Red Bull or any other competitor, you get the sense that Verstappen would already be out of sight.<\/p>\n
As to whether he will do it or not, everything seems to be in his favour. He has the best car on the grid and is the best driver.<\/p>\n
The McLaren duo will continue to take points off each other and Verstappen does not have to worry about his team-mate getting the better strategy option.<\/p>\n
The previously unflappable Piastri has also looked vulnerable, allowing his lead to shrink with every race.<\/p>\n
There are moments in sport where everyone knows something is going to happen even before it does and this feels a lot like one of those times.<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen is the only one you can trust to handle the heat<\/p>\n
By Oliver Harden<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen has been here once or twice before.<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri hasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Lando Norris? He has. Kind of.<\/p>\n
But he struggled to cope with the pressure even with a free hit in 2024, so the chances of him dealing with a three-way fight all the way to Abu Dhabi are slim.<\/p>\n
I have often written here over the years that Verstappen\u2019s greatest quality is his apparent immunity to pressure, his psychological stillness in the crucial moments being what really sets him apart from the rest.<\/p>\n
Max is the only one of this trio you can trust to handle the heat.<\/p>\n
That temperament, against two drivers still very new to the unique scrutiny that comes with a title fight, will serve him well over the last five rounds.<\/p>\n
There does seem to be an inevitability about it.<\/p>\n
One of Piastri or Norris must take charge for themselves<\/p>\n
By Henry Valantine<\/p>\n
It was never going to be over until the numbers said so, right?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen the worthy comparisons with how Max Verstappen has already been channeling his inner 2012-spec Fernando Alonso by earning results far beyond his car\u2019s capabilities, but after Red Bull\u2019s latest update, with Max and machine now in harmony again, the momentum only looks to be heading one way this season.<\/p>\n
There are elements of 2009 in that way (there\u2019s a very good documentary series about that, you know), where the early dominance of Brawn was reeled in by Red Bull, and a title battle very nearly went the distance.<\/p>\n
Had Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello held an equal share of the points from their early-season form, though, we\u2019d be talking about a different outcome compared to Sebastian Vettel. With one car ahead at Red Bull again this time, Verstappen is primed to pounce upon any shortcomings.<\/p>\n
I agree with Sam in that McLaren has seemed to back itself too far into a corner in its quest for fairness between its drivers. There\u2019s no doubt it\u2019s the right thing to do on a personal level, but there is an inherent lack of fairness in Formula 1. There always has been, and always will be.<\/p>\n
It also feels too late to back one driver over the other now, so any decision to do so would be met with the appropriate rancour from one side of the garage.<\/p>\n
Where the onus has previously been on the team, it is now up to Piastri or Norris to seize the initiative for themselves.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not an easy thing to do in a first Formula 1 title fight, but if they are to stop Verstappen\u2019s charge, now is the time to stand up and be counted.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what separates the good from the great, after all.<\/p>\n