F1 News
Can Norris beat Verstappen? 'He is a super strong title contender'
- Cas van de Kleut
After an exciting 2024 season, everyone starts again from scratch in Formula 1 from 2025. Who will be the next season's drivers's champion? And who will come out on top in the Constructors'? That question was answered by David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen and Tom Kristensen in F1 Talks on Viaplay.
Are Norris and Leclerc big contenders for the title?
Kristensen began with his prediction: "I would say Charles Leclerc [for] Ferrari will [be] the Drivers' champion and McLaren Constructors' champion. I mean, the obvious one is to say, Max. But if I don't say Max, I will say Charles Leclerc, [for] Ferrari."
Hakkinen went a different route: "If you look at the McLaren, the way they have all the little details, aspects, in the right place at the moment, and you said very nicely about the drivers, the performance of McLaren, I feel like Lando definitely is a super strong candidate to be the world champion of next year and the McLaren to win in the Constructors'."
Verstappen again champion in 2025?
Finally, it was Coulthard's turn to look into his crystal ball: "For me, Max is still the driver of his generation right now, so if he's got a car, then he will be in the hunt. But if you put him to one side, I love the fact you said Charles at Ferrari because there's no doubting his speed, and that would suggest that Fred (Vasseur, Ferrari's team boss, ed.) has stabilised the ship and given Ferrari the chance, and that means they'll be battling McLaren Lando and Oscar (Piastri, ed.)."
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels, too!