Only a few weeks ago, everyone, me included, believed that the World Drivers’ Championship of 2025 would be won by one of the two McLaren drivers. All signs pointed to that being the only real possibility. Something unexpected happened, though. While the troubles within the British team became more apparent, Red Bull’s car gained pace. Before long, the four-time world champion, Max Verstappen, added a new name to the title fight.
The season couldn’t have begun much better for McLaren. They were dominating the field, winning race after race and quickly soaring away from their nearest competitors. They won 12 out of the first 15 races, with Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell splitting the remaining wins.
Because the team didn’t have to worry about direct competition, they opted against choosing a “number one driver“, instead supposedly giving both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri equal treatment. Of course, throughout the season, they made a few controversial mistakes that led people to believe that the “fairness” was only in the team by name. Still, the fact remained that the points were closely split between the two drivers. While that did promise a more interesting end to the season, it also made McLaren more vulnerable.
Verstappen had been lurking in McLaren’s shadows from the very start of the season. While the performance of his Red Bull couldn’t match that of his rivals, he made sure never to finish too far behind them. He even managed to win in both Japan and Imola.
As the season progressed, McLaren seemed to lose their edge over the rest of the field. The team tensions eroded it from the inside; the car wasn’t developing as steadily as those of the other teams, and even the pitstops were too slow for championship contenders. The last time either Norris or Piastri had won a Grand Prix was in Zandvoort, at the end of August. Ever since then, they weren’t able to return to the top step of the podium.
Verstappen gladly capitalized on McLaren’s issues, especially since his car got more and more competitive with every passing week. He won three out of the last four races and slowly ate away at the point difference between himself and the two drivers fighting for the WDC. After yet another great performance in Austin, he got the difference between him and the championship leader, Piastri, to only 40 points.
The short answer is: yes, he can. Now that Verstappen has put himself back in the mix, he won’t back down until the championship is his. If he can keep pushing the two McLaren drivers the way he has been for the past few weeks, the gap will continue to decrease. If they keep making as many mistakes as they have been, it won’t be hard for him to drive circles around them.
The comeback would be extremely impressive, given that there was a point when Verstappen was 104 points behind the championship leader. This type of gap has never been overcome before, so the 2025 season could end up being one for the history books. He has five races to move into the lead and do the impossible.
Veerstappen has undoubtedly made the season much more interesting than anyone believed it could be. McLaren has already won the World Constructors’ Championship, so the individual prize is the only thing left to settle. Now, we can no longer say that it will surely go to either Norris or Piastri. There is a third option, more dangerous and more impressive.
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