While the Formula 1 2025 season begins at the Australian Grand Prix, the world champion reigning Max Verstappen has recognized that Red Bull may not be the fastest team at the moment while Lando Norris has played suggestions that McLaren is the team to beat. After starting 2024 in a dominant manner, Red Bull’s grip weakened in the second half of the season, McLaren and Ferrari showing a serious challenge. While Verstappen managed to win his fourth consecutive pilot championship, Red Bull was beaten in the manufacturers’ championship by McLaren. Before 2025, Verstappen is expecting an even more difficult battle.
“I know that we are not the fastest right now,” Versappen told journalists on media day. “But it’s a long season. If you asked the same question here last year, at the end of the season, everything looked completely different. So many things can always change fairly in Formula 1.”
The RB21 of Red Bull showed lightning lightning during pre-season tests, but Verstappen remains cautious about the pure and simple competitiveness of the car.
“Naturally, there is an improvement compared to last year, but there are still things we have to work on,” he said. “Bahrain was just a test, and now we are on a completely different track. We will see how we get stuck here.”
While Red Bull manages expectations, McLaren was tilted as a favorite early after their strong pre-season projection. However, Norris – who pushed Verstappen hard in 2024 – rejected the idea that McLaren has an advantage over their rivals.
“I don’t think we are superior to our competitors,” said Norris. “There have been a lot of discussions, but I really don’t think we are more in advance than last season. It will be a difficult weekend, and we will fight with everyone.”
With the resurgence of the end of the McLaren season last year, some rivals suggested that the team could have an advantage before 2025. However, Norris was quick to reject such claims, suggesting that the story can be exaggerated.
“I don’t know what other teams do, but they like a conversation, that’s for sure!” He joked. “But that does not matter. We will see what will happen in the coming days. We have had a good test in Bahrain, but that does not mean that we are faster than the others. I think people will be surprised when the real race begins.”
The 25-year-old also suggested that low fuel test times may have given a false impression of McLaren’s pace, adding: “I think many teams hid things. We don’t think we are in advance on anyone. We are in a very similar stadium to our three main rivals, and we have to work hard to stay in advance.”
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