Max Verstappen Applauds McLaren’s Key Strength Amid Red Bull’s Persistent Struggles

Max Verstappen pinpointed a key area where McLaren have a big advantage on Red Bull.

Max Verstappen Applauds McLaren’s Key Strength Amid Red Bull’s Persistent Struggles

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

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McLaren emerged as the dominant force in the 2025 season. The British team seemed to have finally put an end to Max Verstappen‘s dominance on the grid with Red Bull struggling to catch up. While Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have been fighting one another for race wins, the reigning world champion is finding it difficult to stay at the front. Now, Verstappen has pointed out a major strength of the Woking-based squad.

Since the start of the season, McLaren have consistently remained the quickest car on most tracks. While Max Verstappen managed to salvage two victories at the start of the year, Red Bull has continued to decline in terms of pure pace. Milton Keynes has faced several issues this year, including a leadership shake-up with Christian Horner’s exit.

Max Verstappen pointed out that one major area where the Woking-based squad leads is tire management. The Dutch driver insisted that McLaren was far better in taking the tires longer in a stint. Moreover, the reigning world champion pointed out that this was particularly evident on wet weather tires, since they are much more prone to degradation. The Red Bull star signaled that this had given McLaren a key advantage on the track. On the other hand, Milton Keynes was still trying to riddle out the host of issues it has faced this season.

[The McLaren] is definitely better on its tires, to keep the tires alive a lot nicer. You can clearly see that in the wet on the intermediates, where if you have good tire management, [tire preservation] even comes out more on that tire, because the tire is more fragile. 

Max Verstappen told RacingNews365

Max Verstappen declares McLaren’s performance ‘incredible’ in 2025

At the start of 2023, McLaren was nowhere close to the front of the grid. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were lucky to even score points in the early stages of that season. However, the British team has done a massive turnaround and now leads the pecking order in the sport.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull content pool)
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (image via Red Bull content pool)

Max Verstappen asserted that McLaren remains the strongest outfit when it comes to medium speed performance. So much so, the reigning world champion called Woking’s pace ‘incredible’ when compared to the rest of the grid, including Red Bull.

At the same time, I think their medium speed performance is incredible compared to, I would say, everyone else on the grid. 

Max Verstappen stated

Additionally, Verstappen stated that McLaren cars are able to have good rotation on the front wheels without losing control of the rear of the car. The Dutch driver was so impressed that he hoped to replicate it at Red Bull.

The rotation that they have on the front axle without losing the rear is something that, yeah, it’s also quite incredible to see, and that’s something that we have to try and achieve.

Max Verstappen added

Certainly, Max Verstappen does not shy away from praising his rivals. The Dutchman is a pure bred racer who recognizes key characteristics that must be praised. While Verstappen might have appreciated McLaren’s pace, the Red Bull star would be hoping that he could once again battle it out for victories against Piastri and Norris in the second half of the season.

Read More: Red Bull Insider Exposes ‘War-like’ Paddock During Max Verstappen’s Title Charge Against Lewis Hamilton in 2021