Brundle tips McLaren to settle the title fight, says Verstappen has “a lot to do”
Four races, two sprints, three drivers, one championship that refuses to sit still. After Mexico, the World Championship picture sharpened into a clear three-hander — Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen — but Martin Brundle isn’t buying the idea that Verstappen will complete the comeback.
On Sky’s The F1 Show, Brundle was blunt: Verstappen has too much ground to make up without a teammate in the mix, and the run-in looks friendly for McLaren. “Right now, after that performance at the weekend, I believe Max has got a lot to do, unless he has a few weekends like Austin,” he 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.”
It’s a fair read of the dynamic. McLaren, who locked up the Constructors’ Championship with time to spare, are playing a two-car game while Red Bull’s fight is happening on Max Island. In recent rounds Ferrari or Mercedes have occasionally wedged themselves into the podium places too, stripping points away from Verstappen when he can least afford it.
The numbers aren’t kind either. Verstappen’s surge — three wins and a six-race podium streak — has sliced the deficit but not erased it. He trails Norris by 36 points with a quartet of grands prix and those two sprint races left. That’s close enough to keep the pressure on, not quite close enough to make Mexico’s result feel like anything other than a missed chance.
And Mexico was Norris’ statement weekend. Pole, control, and a win that moved him back ahead of Piastri by a single point at the top. McLaren now has the luxury problem every team wants: two drivers capable of winning the title, and the awkward management decisions that come with it. Brundle, for his part, thinks it’s theirs to lose. “I believe it’s between the two McLaren drivers, and unless they step on their own tails and hand it to Max… I believe in Qatar, for example, the McLaren will be strong, probably Abu Dhabi as well.”
That last point matters. On paper, the Middle Eastern swing tends to reward cars that are gentle on their tyres and sparkling in medium- and high-speed sequences — a McLaren sweet spot for much of this season. If those events skew orange, Verstappen’s path requires not just victories, but McLaren slip-ups or strategic own goals. Brundle did the math out loud: “Max really effectively needs 12 or 15 points a weekend to compensate for the weekends [McLaren] will be stronger.”
Verstappen didn’t sugarcoat the situation either. Third in Mexico continued his podium run, but it wasn’t the kind of day that closes titles. “I mean, I lost 10 to Lando, if you look at it like that,” he said in the post-race press conference. “I said before the weekend, everything needs to go perfect to win. And this weekend didn’t go perfect. So that’s your answer.”
That’s the margin when you’re chasing. Perfection isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the only way the sums add up. “It’s going to be tough,” Verstappen admitted. “We’re not quick in every scenario, and that’s what we need to understand a bit better.”
There’s also the context of how we got here. Mid-season, the narrative had McLaren cantering to both titles, their car humming on most track layouts and their execution largely clean. The Constructors’ trophy is already theirs. The Drivers’ chase, however, tightened as Verstappen found form and opportunity. He pulled himself back into striking distance with the kind of unrelenting consistency that’s defined his era. Only now, the margins are thinner and the calendar shorter. This isn’t 2022 or 2023; every Saturday and Sunday is a knife fight.
If you’re hunting for where this tips, keep an eye on intra-team tension at McLaren. Norris has the momentum, Piastri had the early-season punch, and neither looks inclined to play second fiddle. A scruffy weekend or a strategy call that favors one over the other could invite Verstappen right back through the door. That’s the scenario Brundle leaves open — not Max beating them on raw pace alone, but McLaren tripping on their own laces.
It’s also worth noting Brundle’s temperature reading comes off a weekend where he felt Verstappen’s off-track excursion deserved a stiffer penalty than it got. He’s judged the mood and the maths and concluded the smart money sits in Woking, not Milton Keynes. It’s hard to argue when one team fields two title weapons and the other depends on one man’s perfect Sundays.
Still, sport loves a curveball. Safety cars don’t read spreadsheets. Neither do gusts of wind, slow pit stops, or sudden tyre graining. Verstappen’s run back into contention proves as much. If he keeps this podium drumbeat going and finds one big swing weekend, the arithmetic could flip again. But he needs it now, not later.
For the moment, Brundle’s call is clear: the crown’s staying papaya, likely on Norris’ head — unless Piastri snaps back to his early-season edge. Verstappen’s alive in it, just not favored. And after Mexico, that feels about right.
