Max Verstappen is chasing what would surely be his finest title yet at Red Bull. McLaren have a material pace advantage, but the Dutchman has made himself a firm contender.
When he sealed a fourth straight championship last year, Verstappen called it his magnum opus. Red Bull were fastest at the start of the year, but they slipped to third in the pecking order during the summer, forcing their superstar driver into defensive mode.
But this year, the difficulty has gone up another notch. At no point this season, perhaps excluding the Emilia Romagna GP, have Red Bull had the fastest car.
This is evidenced by the performance of Verstappen’s teammates. The second driver (at that time Sergio Perez) was scoring podiums at the start of 2024, and now Yuki Tsunoda – doing a reasonable job by all accounts – is scraping top-10 finishes.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
146 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
133 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
124 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
99 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
61 |
| 6 |
Lewis Hamilton |
53 |
| 7 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
48 |
| 8 |
Alexander Albon |
40 |
| 9 |
Esteban Ocon |
14 |
| 10 |
Lance Stroll |
14 |
Heading to Monaco, Verstappen is only 22 points behind Oscar Piastri – a margin that can be overturned in one race weekend. One could argue that very few drivers in the sport’s history would have managed to stay so close.
Christian Horner hints even Lewis Hamilton couldn’t pull off Max Verstappen’s Oscar Piastri move
A week on, Verstappen’s overtake on Piastri at the start of the Imola race is still inspiring awe in the paddock. The 2015 debutant successfully flung his car around the outside of the Tamburello chicane, remarkably avoiding contact and staying on the track.
After FP1 in Monaco, Sky Sports host Simon Lazenby put it to team principal Christian Horner that very few drivers could execute a move of that quality. Horner countered that Verstappen was the only one.
In terms of success, only Lewis Hamilton is in the same bracket as Verstappen on the current grid. But the Englishman has historically been cautious and controlled in wheel-to-wheel combat, rather than taking spectacular risks.
“There’s only one, in my mind, that can do that,” Horner said. “I think he demonstrated why he’s a four-time world champion. It was an outstandingly committed move.
“Fair play to Oscar as well, because he gave him the space to work with. I think it caught him by surprise. It looked like he was more focused on George on the left-hand side. Max, in that situation he sees a gap, he sent it, and absolutely committed to it. Phenomenal.”
Karun Chandhok hits out at unfair narrative around Max Verstappen in 2025
While he came off second best last weekend, Piastri says he’s similar to Verstappen. Both are ‘uncompromising’ when they go head-to-head.
Piastri had impressively held his own in their previous encounters in Saudi Arabia and Miami. That may have offered Verstappen additional motivation heading into the Imola rematch.
Karun Chandhok believes it’s not ‘fair’ to say Verstappen and Red Bull are struggling this year. In his eyes, they shouldn’t be punished for setting standards so high in the past.
Ultimately, they have picked up two wins, three poles and four podiums from the first seven rounds. Chandhok acknowledges that the car has a particularly narrow performance window, but says Verstappen is capable of maximising it.
