Martin Brundle’s thrilling F1 2025 prediction in ‘too close to call’ verdict
F1 2025 too close to call? Let it be so!
Even before the first laps of the F1 2025 championship, Martin Brundle is predicting a title race that will be “too close to call” and could go down to the wire.
Last season Max Verstappen clinched his fourth successive World title with the Dutchman’s early-season lead giving him a bit of breathing room as rivals, led by McLaren, began to close the gap on the track and in the standings.
Too close to call? Let it be so!
After the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen’s last win before his 10-race winless streak began, he was 69 points up on Lando Norris in the Drivers’ standings.
It meant that even when McLaren, the clear winners in the development war with the MCL38 emerging as the car to beat for large swaths of the campaign, closed the gap on the track, Verstappen was able to keep his nose ahead. He won the title by 62 points ahead of Norris with Charles Leclerc a further 18 down in third place, wrapping it up at the Las Vegas Grand Prix with two races to spare.
Verstappen ended the campaign with nine wins on the board, his RB20 winning more races than any other car. McLaren’s MCL38 won six, Ferrari’s SF-24 five and Mercedes bagged four.
Next season, however, former F1 driver turned Sky F1 pundit Brundle believes it could be even closer, potentially leading to a title decider with Formula 1’s last showdown being the 2021 finale between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
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“It’ll be too close to call between the top teams, I have no doubt about that at all,” Brundle told Sky F1.
“There’ll be some brilliant driving, and teams know what they’ve got to do. They really understand these cars now and the tyres.
“I think we’ll see a bit the same as this year, lots of different winners, and the championship, I hope, goes right down to the wire.”
His fellow pundit Anthony Davidson reckons Formula 1’s ATR scale could have a say in the 2025 title race as for the first time Red Bull don’t have less time than their rivals.
Based on the end-of-season Constructors’ standings, Red Bull have 80 per cent of the allocation of CFD and wind tunnel time as they were third while McLaren have only 70 per cent and Ferrari have 75%.
The former F1 driver said: “It’s an exciting prospect that both Mercedes and Red Bull have more wind tunnel time than the top two, Ferrari, McLaren, so let’s see what they can do in that precious time they have over the winter to hit the ground running.
“But I’ve got the feeling that there might not be one standout team. There might not be one standout driver.
“If the tail end of this season is anything to go by and the regulation stand exactly the same as they are, please, more of this for next year.”
The F1 2024 championship ended with six different winners in the final eight races, the list including Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc while Max Verstappen and Lando Norris won two apiece. Seven drivers in total won last year, with Lewis Hamilton successful in Britain and Belgium.
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