Max Verstappen surpassing Sebastian Vettel by winning a fifth drivers’ title in a row is Red Bull’s target but Helmut Marko fears a rival is now ‘even more dangerous’ in 2025.
Only Michael Schumacher has so far ever secured the F1 drivers’ championship five years on the spin. The German dominated the pinnacle of motorsport with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004 to be the first seven-time champion until Lewis Hamilton, who secured four in a row at best.
But Verstappen can join Schumacher in the very exclusive group by winning the title for Red Bull in 2025. Vettel did not join his compatriot with five in a row after his titles from 2010 to 2013 as Hamilton won the 2014 crown amid the first year with V6 turbo-hybrid power units.
Helmut Marko thinks Lando Norris is ‘even more dangerous’ for Max Verstappen’s title defence in 2025
While the rules may not be changing that much this year given F1’s 2026 engine and chassis regulations overhaul, Verstappen does face a tough task to win the drivers’ championship in 2025. Marko has Red Bull behind McLaren in F1’s 2025 pecking order after the Bahrain test.
Marko further sees Lando Norris as an ‘even more dangerous’ threat to Verstappen’s F1 title defence in 2025 after the McLaren man first emerged as a championship contender in 2024. The Briton could not dethrone the Dutchman after Verstappen built a substantial early lead.
READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge
Regardless, Marko is desperate for Verstappen to win five straight titles after Red Bull failed to with Vettel. He also enters the 2025 campaign eager to see how things play out at Ferrari after the arrival of Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes to partner with Charles Leclerc this term.
“We dominated in the early stages [and] then the problems came,” Marko told OE24. “But Max was so superior as a driver that he still took the world championship home with ease.
“Now, Norris is even more dangerous. It will be exciting to see what happens at Ferrari. We know Leclerc is a super qualifier and Hamilton is still capable of exceptional performances. Our goal is definitely the fifth title in a row. We didn’t manage that with Vettel.”
Lando Norris is the 2025 F1 drivers’ title favourite, while Max Verstappen is unhappy at Red Bull
Red Bull were the team to beat at first last season, and Verstappen won seven of the first 10 Grands Prix. McLaren were not a real threat before their upgrades helped Norris win his first Grand Prix in Miami, where Verstappen arrived holding a 52-point lead over the Briton in P5.
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Verstappen’s advantage may also have been even stronger had he not retired from the 2024 Australian Grand Prix due to a brake failure whilst battling Carlos Sainz over the lead. In the end, the 27-year-old retained his title by 63 points over Norris as the 25-year-old rose to P2.
But the shoe is on the other foot this year with McLaren the team to beat and many naming Norris as the 2025 F1 title favourite with his Woking outfit’s standing. Over in Milton Keynes, life is not all that rosy and Verstappen is ‘hammering’ Red Bull about their 2025 car’s issues.
Verstappen found Red Bull’s new car still struggles with bumps and kerbs after F1 testing in Bahrain. Norris will no doubt hope to take advantage of McLaren’s expected position at the front of the field to add to his four career Grand Prix wins and get an early lead this season.
