Max Verstappen has been widely regarded as the fastest Formula 1 driver of the current era for many years.
After all, he has won four consecutive drivers’ championships and has been the leader of Red Bull’s operations for nearly a decade now. In 2025, he faces one of the stiffest challenges of his career so far to beat the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Verstappen has won two races this year, but still trails Piastri at the top by 49 points. He had a disastrous end to the Spanish Grand Prix, which cost him at least 14 points, but other than that, he has been virtually faultless so far.
Red Bull discovered that Verstappen’s life will be much easier after a recent rule change, which has helped to make their car’s setup window a lot wider. Especially on sprint weekends, where there is less time to fine-tune the car, that will give them an advantage they didn’t have before.
Even after a collision with George Russell in Barcelona, F1 fans praised Verstappen after his fight with the Brit. He apologised on social media the day after contact with the Mercedes driver, admitting that he had crossed a line.
READ MORE: George Russell’s ‘disrespectful’ Max Verstappen claim now looks well justified after Spanish Grand Prix clash
Data suggests Charles Leclerc has been faster than Max Verstappen in 2025
Although Verstappen has ‘traumatised’ Piastri and Norris with his skills, there is always room for improvement. It’s why he’s striving to win every weekend, despite having a car that isn’t always up to the task.
However, new data from Autoracer.it suggests that Charles Leclerc has actually been the fastest driver on the grid this season, driving just 0.050 seconds from his ‘ideal’ lap on average.
Verstappen is only a touch behind at 0.056 seconds, while Piastri is at 0.068 seconds. It shows how remarkably consistent they all have been to be driving so close to their ‘ideal’ lap times on average.
It’s a pleasing and encouraging stat for Ferrari, and suggests that they do indeed have one driver capable of fighting for a world title currently.
Ferrari are planning two crucial updates that will be music to the ears of their Monegasque star as the season develops. They’ve been one of the most underwhelming teams in 2025, and need to find more speed if they don’t want to slide down the constructors’ standings.
READ MORE: Charles Leclerc told to be a better role model for young drivers after ‘dangerous’ Spanish Grand Prix move
Is there an explanation for Max Verstappen dropping the ball at Red Bull?
The easiest explanation for Verstappen dropping behind Leclerc may be that he’s simply pushing too hard to make up for his car’s deficiencies.
Red Bull made one Verstappen decision in ‘panic’ at the last race, and the more mistakes they make, the more the pressure builds on their star driver.
Verstappen ‘could easily’ replace Kimi Antonelli in 2026 according to Guenther Steiner, with the Dutchman being heavily linked to two teams over the last year.
Both Mercedes and Aston Martin are in the picture, but leaving the Red Bull project would be a massive commitment, and there’s no guarantee of success.
A large part of any decisions on the future may be how the rest of this season pans out. If it’s negative, Verstappen may look to leave.
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