Charles Leclerc Refuses to Bet on Max Verstappen to Win 2025 Championship over McLaren

Max Verstappen has achieved a shocking resurgence in performance and has joined the mix for fighting for the driver’s title in the 2025 season. The Dutchman is on a hot winning streak and is now just 40 points adrift of the championship lead to Oscar Piastri. As such, despite Verstappen’s promising title charge, Charles Leclerc refuses to put all his money on the reigning world champion to win this year.

Max Verstappen had remained neutral on his winning chances despite his race-winning streak. Verstappen managed to cut short a 104-point difference down to just 40 points in a matter of over five races. As such, with five more races left in the 2025 season, it wouldn’t be surprising to witness the Dutchman make a shocking comeback and actually lift the championship trophy this year.

Charles Leclerc insisted that he would be very surprised if Max Verstappen managed to win the driver’s title from the position he is in currently. Leclerc accepted that the Dutchman was always on top of things and performed extremely well. However, a 40-point difference was too significant to cover with ease, especially at such a point in the season.

I would be very surprised if he manages to win the championship from where he is. He is always on top of things and always performing extremely well, but he is still 40 points behind, and that is significant. 

Charles Leclerc said, as reported by RacingNews365.

As such, Charles Leclerc reckoned that if he had a dollar and had to bet it on anyone winning the driver’s title, it probably wouldn’t be Max Verstappen. He explained that McLaren was performing great at this stage in the season, but he noted that Verstappen could never be counted out. Leclerc highlighted that Oscar Piastri had remained very strong this season, and Lando Norris was returning to his winning ways as well.

So if I had to be $1, I probably would on the McLaren drivers at this stage, but you can never rule out Max, but which one, that’s difficult. Oscar has been very, very strong this season, and been very solid and in the last two or three races, it seems that Lando is coming back to strong form, so it is going to be close.

Charles Leclerc added.

Charles Leclerc claims he’s ‘never surprised’ with Max Verstappen’s results

Charles Leclerc has been racing against Max Verstappen for a very long time, as they both raced each other in junior karting categories as well. Hence, Leclerc is well-versed in Verstappen’s racing talents. Because of this, the Monegasque isn’t too surprised by the 27-year-old’s shocking resurgence in results and fighting for the driver’s title in the season’s final stages.

Speaking on Max Verstappen’s results, Charles Leclerc noted that he was never surprised, because the former always drove at a very high level. Moreover, Red Bull was also the team that pushed the most amount of development as compared to the rival teams. As such, it was now up to the rivals to defeat the in-form Verstappen and deny him his fifth consecutive driver’s title.

I’m never surprised, Max is always driving at a very high level, and Red Bull is probably the one team that has pushed developments more than other teams,

Charles Leclerc noted.

Certainly, Max Verstappen will not make life easier for the rivals, especially Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Both McLaren drivers have been giving it their all, but still fail to defeat Verstappen. As such, with just five races to play and 40 points between them, it will be interesting to witness how the season plays out.

Read More: Helmut Marko Exposes the Real Reason Behind ‘Max Verstappen’s Resurgence’ After Firing Christian Horner

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