Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes that Max Verstappen will have a ‘psychological advantage’ over Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris during the final five rounds of the 2025 Formula One campaign.
The reigning world champion looked dead and buried in the title fight after the summer break, as Piastri’s Dutch Grand Prix triumph moved him over 100 points clear of Verstappen, and 34 points ahead of team-mate Norris. However, since then, momentum has swung in the Red Bull driver’s favour.
Over the past four races, Verstappen has recorded three victories and a second-place finish in Singapore, while Piastri has failed to score a podium in his last three starts. This means that, heading into the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend, the gap between the two drivers stands at just 40 points.
“I’ve been in a similar situation with two drivers fighting for a championship, and the threat of another one catching back in the day was Max, I believe, and then it was Sebastian [Vettel] in that hunt,” Wolff said, assessing McLaren’s position.
“So the underdog always has a little bit of an easier psychological advantage because of the probability. The odds are definitely against Max. If you look at the probability, that’s very low. One DNS can change everything, and I think that affects the driving also.
“How aggressive can you actually go for an overtake? You can see with Lando today, he’s done it at the end, but it was tricky at times to decide whether you keep your nose, put your nose in, or not.”
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While Wolff believes that being the chaser will suit Verstappen, current championship leader Piastri is adamant that he is still in the best position to clinch the crown in 2025. The Australian’s current form will not be enough to get the effort over the line, so he will need a resurgence over the coming five Grands Prix to become world champion.
“I’d still rather be where I am than the other two,” he declared after finishing fifth in Austin. “Definitely, Max and Red Bull have found a lot of pace since the summer break as well. We saw flashes of it at the start of the year, but it’s been consistent since then.
“I’ve been in fights that were as close or, at this point, even closer than what they are now. So I’ve got the evidence for myself that things can still turn out well, and I still fully believe that I can win the championship. This weekend has obviously been tough, and the gap has come down a little bit in the last few weekends.”