Formula 1: Max Verstappen still reigns as challengers stand up to Red Bull’s king

There’s plenty of challengers, but anyone writing off Max Verstappen’s chances of winning another Formula 1 title should know they will do so at their own peril, writes JULIAN LINDEN.

Anyone writing off Max Verstappen’s chances of winning another Formula 1 title should know they will be doing so at their own peril.

On the eve of the first practice for the Australian Grand Prix, the Dutchman was happily singing along to the hymn that his 2025 Red Bull car is not as quick as the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, based on pre-season testing results.

But not everyone is convinced Verstappen is a spent force this season because he is also a master of mind games.

And true to form, he just as quickly said he is not ready yet to give up on his chances of claiming a record-equalling fifth successive drivers’ crown, telling a packed news conference at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit that he expects things will fluctuate wildly throughout the nine-month championship.

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen will play a big role in this season’s championship. Picture: AFP

“I know that we are not the quickest at the moment,” he said. “But, it’s a very long season.

“If you would have asked that question here last year, and then at the end of the season again, it would look completely different.

“A lot of things can always change quite quickly in Formula 1.”

That was the knockout punchline to remind everyone that he remains the most talented and motivated driver in the sport.

Verstappen comfortably won his fourth world title in 2024 after building a huge 69-point lead in the first half of the season, where he won seven of the first 10 Grands Prix.

And although he won just two of the remaining 14 races, prompting premature claims his title defence was in danger, he still finished 63 points in front at the end, sealing the championship with two rounds up his sleeve.

Of course, McLaren overtook Red Bull during the second half of the season to win the constructors’ championship, with Ferrari taking second spot, which is why they have been installed as the early favourites for 2025.

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri led the team to their first constructors championship in 25 years. Picture: Getty Images

Verstappen agrees that McLaren and Ferrari, now with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in the cockpit, are his biggest threats this season, but he isn’t writing off Red Bull either.

“We’re good,” he said. “What kind of shape? Positive shape, I guess.

“We’ll find out more this weekend then after. We’ll try to do our best. There’s not really much more that we can do.

“We’ve found that there are already areas that we can work on and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

To all the other drivers, the idea that Verstappen is vulnerable this year is unthinkable because of the way he has dominated the category over the last four years.

The bookies have got Norris as the early favourite with Verstappen next, followed by Leclerc, Hamilton and Norris. All the other remaining drivers are at double figure odds and given next to no hope.

While his first championship win, in 2021, was packed with controversy after he beat Hamilton in the final race in Abu Dhabi following a hotly contested restart, Verstappen’s subsequent wins have all been as smooth as a Sunday afternoon drive.

In 2023, Verstappen won an unprecedented 19 of 22 races, and has already racked up 63 career wins at age 27.

Asked whether this year presented him with his biggest challenge as defending champion, he just shrugged his shoulders.

“Hardest one? I don’t know. I don’t think about it,” he said. “There’s no reason to think about that yet.”

Ferrari's British driver Lewis Hamilton is expected to thrive in his debut season at Ferrari. Picture: AFP

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will also be among the contenders. Picture: AFP

With his place in the sport’s pantheon of greats already assured, Verstappen does at least know what is at stake if he can win again this year.

Michael Schumacher is the only driver to have won five successive titles while Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio and Sebastian Vettel each won four on the trot.

Verstappen has already matched them, and while he has the chance to join Schumacher on five successive wins, he insisted he hasn’t given a moment’s thought to how that would feel.

“I actually don’t think about it,” he said.

“It’s actually a way of relaxing to just go into it, trust the people around you… and go from there.

“You work hard, on and off track, try to address things that you don’t like in a car or whatever and always try to do the best on track yourself, just try to minimise mistakes and keep scoring points.”

Originally published as Formula 1: Max Verstappen still reigns as challengers stand up to Red Bull’s king