Alesi betting on Verstappen to clinch 2025 crown
McLaren are quick but, in the eyes of Alesi, Max is the man who makes the difference
Undoubtedly the fastest car on the grid, McLaren had been the talk of the town especially after its drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri won the first two races of the year in Australia and China.
While some predicted that 2025 would see a Norris-Piastri battle for the championship just like Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg fought between 2014-16 at Mercedes, others like former world champion Jacques Villeneuve prophesised Norris clinching the title given his experience of having been involved in a championship fight last year.
But Max Verstappen has changed the course of the discourse after delivering a sensational drive at Suzuka, first to take pole and then to win the Japanese Grand Prix last Sunday. As a result, the Red Bull driver is second in the standings, only one point behind Norris.
Though we’re very early in the season, former Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi is still willing to bet on four-time world champion Verstappen to clinch the title this year despite not having the fastest car on the grid.
“It’s very early, very early but if I have to put my money on a driver, I will put it on Max (especially) after what we saw last weekend with his drive. The points he’s scoring at the moment are big. We are talking about a championship of 24 races. We will see different winners and that will spread points. That can help Max to be world champion,” Alesi told HT over a video call from Bahrain where he will attend the race this weekend.
“I was extremely impressed with his drive, not only during the race, but the qualifying lap he did too. The whole race he managed to keep the lead and distance between the cars behind, never to be in a position to be overtaken by the two McLarens who were on paper faster than him. Max has impressed everyone at the moment. He’s just amazing.”
It has become a norm over the years with the fastest team winning the drivers’ title. We saw it with Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. But Alesi, who raced in 202 GPs from 1989 to 2001, said the Dutchman can prove this year that the driver is the biggest differentiator.
“At this level, we cannot just talk about the cars. When we see the difference between Max and his teammates, it’s always extremely big. That means he has the capacity to drive the car on the limit and make the difference. He’s very strong and experienced, has won the world championship many times and knows how to handle a championship. McLaren are very strong because their two drivers are close and doing a good job together, but Max is the man who makes the difference,” said Alesi in a call facilitated by FanCode, official broadcaster for F1 in India.
“When you see from the onboard camera, the way he is driving his car, he is never, ever making a mistake. He is just perfect. It was pure perfection of a drive. These cars are very complicated, so that’s why when you see this kind of achievement from a driver, it doesn’t matter who is going to be his teammate. Nobody can be close to a driver like Max.”
Though it looks like a Verstappen vs McLaren battle as of now, the Frenchman, who drove for six different teams in F1 including Ferrari, expects the Italian marque as well as Mercedes to close in as the championship progresses.
“The championship is going to be very tight because Mercedes and Ferrari will come back. All these teams and drivers will fight for winning GPs and that will help Max to get the lead of the championship,” said Alesi, who earned 32 podiums in his 13 seasons in F1.
“And when it comes to Lando, last year was extremely important because he understood how important it is to be consistent all season. At the moment, Lando’s races are fantastic, but he had no chance to overtake Max last weekend, but he ended second. It’s very important (for him) to be consistent (to win points) all season.”
