Martin Brundle believes Max Verstappen faces an uphill battle to win the 2025 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri now the clear favorites.

Despite Verstappen’s strong comeback — winning three of the last six races and closing the gap to 36 points behind Norris — Brundle thinks McLaren’s pace and teamwork will prove too much to overcome.

Speaking after the Mexican Grand Prix, Brundle said:

“Because of the remaining four events, I believe McLaren will be faster in at least two of them. It’s two against one. Max doesn’t have a rear gunner up there, and every so often a Ferrari or a Mercedes is grabbing the bigger points, the top three points as well.”

Lando Norris dominated the Mexican Grand Prix from pole to reclaim the championship lead by a single point over Piastri. Brundle predicts that Verstappen would struggle to sustain his challenge without a teammate to support him.

“Right now, after that performance at the weekend, I believe Max has got too much… a lot to do, unless he has a few weekends like Austin.”

Brundle expects McLaren to be faster in at least half of the remaining races, such as Qatar and Abu Dhabi, making it effectively “two against one” for the Red Bull driver.

“I believe it’s between the two McLaren drivers, and unless they step on their own tails and hand it to Max… I think Lando can take it, unless Oscar can return to the form that he had earlier in this season, and providing they don’t step on their own tails.”

With four grands prix and two sprint races left, Brundle sees the title fight as a two-way battle between the McLaren drivers — unless they make major mistakes that allow Verstappen to capitalise and claim a fifth straight championship.