Peter Windsor snubs Max Verstappen as he names eight-win F1 driver who could win 2025 title

The 2025 F1 season is set to be one of the most exciting campaigns in the sport’s history as it enters the final year of the current regulations.

F1 is due to transform with the 2026 regulations bringing a new spec of car and a focus on sustainability. All 10 teams hope to ace the new rules while ending the ground effect era on a high in 2025.

Max Verstappen is looking to become the first driver since Michael Schumacher to win five consecutive titles this season. The Dutchman beat Lando Norris to the 2024 championship by 63 points.

However, Red Bull no longer have the advantage as McLaren and Ferrari proved to have the faster packages come the end of 2024. The former won the constructors’ championship by 14 points over the latter and are looking to grab the drivers’ title in 2025.

Karun Chandhok backs Norris for the title, but teammate Oscar Piastri will prove tough competition as he will begin the season free from team orders.

Mercedes are looking to make a step up while Ferrari are searching for their first drivers’ title since 2007 with their sensational line-up of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Ahead of pre-season testing later this month, Peter Windsor has given his verdict on the 2025 champion.

Peter Windsor has a ‘good feeling’ Charles Leclerc could win the 2025 title

Since making the step up to Ferrari from Sauber in 2019, Leclerc has established himself as one of the top contenders in the sport. The Monagasque driver has won eight races and grabbed 26 pole positions and 43 podiums with the Scuderia.

Leclerc finished third behind Norris in the drivers’ standings in 2024 and is undergoing extensive preparation for the 2025 season to challenge for the title.

And speaking on the Cameron Cc YoyTube channel, Windsor has a ‘good feeling’ about the 27-year-old and Ferrari’s prospects this season.

“I think Charles could win the championship. I’m not going to state the obvious which is a McLaren driver, or possibly Max”, he said.

“I think Charles could. I’ve got a good feeling about Ferrari and what I really like about Ferrari is that they didn’t just spend the one billion that Lawrence Stroll is now offering Max.

“They didn’t just spend the one billion to get Adrian Newey and they realise that they’ve actually got a pretty good team that they can get the best form.

“And I love that type of organic growth and confidence building that that gives you and full marks to Fred Vasseur for that”.

Could Lewis Hamilton get the edge over Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in 2025?

Ferrari have made changes to how Leclerc prepares for races ahead of 2025 – perhaps a much-needed change given the driver on the other side of the garage.

Seven-time champion Hamilton will be eager to make his stint with Ferrari a successful one. The 40-year-old joins the team off the back of the lowest finish of his career in 2024.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Hamilton will initially start on the back foot as he gets accustomed to his new surroundings. Despite crashing during his TPC test in Barcelona, Hamilton reported very positive impressions to Ferrari engineers after the session.

The Brit will be desperate to improve his fortunes on Saturdays as his lack of pace proved costly in 2024. Leclwrc is one of the strongest drivers over one lap and will be a tough benchmark for Hamilton.

But the prospect of going up against a seven-time champion may be too much to handle for Leclerc. Windsor says Leclerc must control his emotions to beat Hamilton in 2025, referencing his outburst at Ferrari’s strategy in Las Vegas.