Challenge for Verstappen expected: 'Otherwise title in 2025 will be difficult'

Max Verstappen is almost assured of his fourth F1 world drivers' title, despite a season in which he did not have the fastest car on the grid most of the time. Karun Chandhok does not believe Verstappen can become champion in 2025 if Red Bull Racing give him a car that isn't competitive against the Ferrari, Mercedes or McLaren.

"I’m sure he (Verstappen) knows this," stated the former F1 driver turned Sky Sports analyst in a conversation with GPblog. "He knows he needs to put the pressure on Red Bull to deliver a better car because I think next year Ferrari will be much stronger. If you look at where they have been since probably the summer break, so since Zandvoort, they've been up up up up. I think in normal dry conditions in Brazil, they would have been strong [there] as well. I think Ferrari will be strong."

Chandhok also expects a lot from McLaren in 2025. "Oscar [Piastri] will have another year of experience. I think he and Lando will both be pushing McLaren even more. Mercedes, we don't know. Sometimes they look good, sometimes they look down. So, I'm sure Max will be pushing for Red Bull to make sure they have a more competitive car because it will be more difficult."

Chandhok then does a quick calculation: "If you look at the points gap at the moment...62 points. So, if you take away the first five races, it would only be 10 points. So, the trend is that they are not so strong in terms of pure outright pace. He's done an amazing job to keep them there. I'm sure he is really keeping the pressure on for next year."