Ahead of the F1 Mexico City GP, Max Verstappen’s remarkable resurgence in the 2025 F1 World Championship has sent shockwaves through the paddock, with his dominant United States GP victory reducing his deficit to just 40 points with five races remaining. As the Dutchman mounts one of the sport’s most dramatic comebacks, his rivals, and fellow competitors have shared their thoughts with the media, on whether he can complete the seemingly difficult task.
Leclerc: “I’d be very surprised”
Charles Leclerc, who battled wheel-to-wheel with both Verstappen and Lando Norris at the Circuit of the Americas, acknowledged Verstappen’s relentless consistency whilst expressing cautious scepticism about his F1 Championship chances.
“I’m never surprised, I think Max is always driving at a very high level and considering Red Bull is probably the team that has pushed the development more than other teams,” Leclerc explained. “I think McLaren has stopped quite a while ago, we also stopped quite a while ago, and Mercedes and Red Bull are the two teams that pushed for a bit longer, so it’s not a complete surprise.”
However, the Ferrari driver was measured in his assessment of Verstappen’s ultimate chances. “I’ll be very surprised if he manages to win the championship from where he is,” Leclerc admitted. “I mean, again, he’s always on top of things and always performing extremely well, but it’s still 40 points and 40 points is significant. So yeah, if I had to bet one dollar, I’d probably hold on the McLaren drivers. But yeah, you can never rule out Max.”
When pressed on which McLaren driver he’d favour, Leclerc was diplomatic. “That’s a difficult one, I don’t know. I mean, Oscar has been very, very strong this season and has been very solid. If you look at the last two, three races it seems that Lando is coming back to a very, very strong form, so it’s going to be close, I don’t know.”
Albon: McLaren faces a strategy dilemma
Williams driver Alex Albon highlighted the difficult position McLaren finds themselves in, with both drivers still mathematically in contention but potentially needing to make a difficult choice.
“It’ll be interesting to me to see how McLaren have to play, because they’re still playing both drivers into the championship, but at the same time, you could possibly easily cover him off if you prioritise one driver,” Albon observed. “But I think what they’re doing is fair, and they shouldn’t do that.”
The British-Thai driver praised Red Bull’s recent momentum. “It is going to come down to the wire. It seems like they’ve got a good momentum right now. Their upgrade seems to be working. There was a floor upgrade on Red Bull. I think it was Monza.”
“You can never count Max out, that’s for sure.”
Hadjar: “He’s in a very good position”
Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar, assessed the championship battle with a keen eye on the machinery as well as the driver.
“He’s definitely in the fight. He has the better momentum,” Hadjar said. “I still believe the McLaren is the faster car, especially in the race. Qualifying he puts it together, but in the race they have very good pace. But they are fighting each other. He’s in a very good position.”
Bortoleto: “Already history”
Gabriel Bortoleto, the reigning F2 champion and former McLaren junior, offered perhaps the most glowing assessment of Verstappen’s comeback attempt, calling it historic regardless of the final outcome.
“Well, there is not really much secret. I think what he’s doing is incredible. It’s one of the best comebacks of a championship, in my view, ever done in history,” Bortoleto enthused. “Let’s see what he can achieve. I think he’s been winning recently quite a lot. I think McLaren have been strong, but not as strong as maybe the beginning of the year when they were 1-2 every round.”
When asked if it was already historic for Verstappen, even without the F1 championship secured, Bortoleto was enthusiastic. “Yeah, definitely. I agree with that. I think he didn’t have the best car or even the top three car for most of the parts of the year, and he has been able to win the title fight for this long. And now that they found out some good stuff with the car, and he’s been able to put some good performance, I believe it’s what he said. It’s already history.”
The Brazilian refused to put a percentage on Verstappen’s chances, however, saying, “There is no percentage. Even if you were 10 points ahead in the championship, you cannot make a percentage of this. Everything can happen.”
On the surprise element, Bortoleto added, “I’m not surprised that he has been able to do this, but I’m surprised that they have been able to evolve the car so much since summer break. That surprises me because it’s not easy to do that, especially when you’re already in a good level like they are.”
Alonso: Not quite 2007
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who famously lost the 2007 championship to Kimi Räikkönen in a dramatic finale, was asked to compare that season to the current situation.
“I don’t know. Let’s see how it goes to Abu Dhabi. Things can change quickly, race after race or even day after day,” Alonso cautioned. “In free practice we have a feeling, then in qualifying we have the opposite feeling. And then in the race, it depends how it unfolds. You can have a different contender. But let’s see in Abu Dhabi. I don’t think the situation is that similar to 2007.”
However, the Spaniard acknowledged Red Bull’s turnaround. “In a way, yes, because McLaren was dominant and Red Bull was struggling on car pace for the middle of the season. And now they seem to find a little bit of the right direction with the car. When the car is close enough, Max will make the difference. So, yes, I’m not surprised.”
Bearman: “The best driver that’s ever been in F1”
Rookie Oliver Bearman, who made the jump to Haas in 2025, offered an unqualified endorsement of Verstappen’s abilities.
“He’s on a good streak. I think he’s the best driver in F1. I think he’s the best driver that’s ever been in F1 as well,” Bearman declared. “For someone like me, a rookie, aspiring to hopefully one day fight for a World Championship, Max is the guy that I’m looking up to, because he’s the current reference for the most talented and quickest guy in F1.
“At the moment, previously in the year he didn’t have a car to compete, but now it looks like he does. It’s going to be really cool to see how these last five pan out.”
Hamilton: “You have to be cut-throat”
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has experienced intense championship battles from both sides, offered F1TV insight into the psychological warfare now unfolding.
“In that scenario it’s challenging, the pressure is high. It is a time when you have to put your blinkers up and block everything from the outside,” Hamilton explained. “You have to be cut-throat and that is what Max is, he is going to take this from them if they don’t do the same.”
The Ferrari driver emphasised the challenge facing the McLaren duo. “You have to dig deep to hold off someone like Max and the car he is in. But also for either of them to come out ahead, consistency is key, and you’ve seen that from Max in the last few races.”
Hamilton suggested Verstappen has the easier role as the hunter rather than the hunted, noting he was 104 points behind Oscar Piastri after the Dutch GP.
“You have three incredibly talented drivers and I can’t predict how they’re going to behave,” Hamilton concluded.
With five F1 races remaining and Championship momentum firmly on Verstappen’s side, the paddock consensus seems clear: write off the Dutchman at your peril.
