Former Red Bull driver drops honest verdict on Max Verstappen's title chances in 2025

Former Red Bull driver Christian Klien thinks Max Verstappen and the team would have to really fight if they have to secure the championship in 2025. 2024 was an intriguing season where the Dutch driver began things with a bang. The car was the fastest and had a distinct edge over the others in the competition.

As a result, Max Verstappen was able to capitalize, and until Miami, the driver had dropped only one race, and even that was due to reliability. From Miami onwards, however, things changed. McLaren introduced a major upgrade that leapfrogged the team to the top in terms of performance.

From that point onwards, Red Bull continued to regress in terms of performance while McLaren continued to surge. Due to this, Lando Norris emerged as a title contender in 2024 as Max Verstappen was forced to change his approach and focus on bringing the car home with the best possible result in every race.

Max Verstappen would ultimately manage the championship lead and bring the car home while securing his 4th championship title. In all of this, however, it became clear that by the end of the season, in general, Red Bull had the third fastest car on the grid behind both Ferrari and McLaren.

Heading into the 2025 F1 season, Klien also felt that a lot would depend on the car that Red Bull builds if Max Verstappen has to secure the title. Predicting that it's going to be a tough fight on the Business of Winning podcast, he said:

"That's a good question. It's probably going to be a bit more difficult in 2025. Red Bull started in 2024 with clearly the fastest car and I don't think that's going to happen again. This year they're still at the front, but they don't have an advantage over the others."

He added:

"They really have to fight for it. Plus, we're approaching the end of the current regulations, which is always very exciting. The teams are getting closer together and that makes it more difficult for Red Bull."

Klien went on to state what Red Bull's biggest advantage could be for the upcoming season.

"Max Verstappen is ruthless and a fighter" - Christian Klien on Red Bull's biggest advantage

(L-R)Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Christian Klien during an intervietw a the Goodwood Festival of Speed - Source: Getty

Klien did, however, feel that one major positive for Red Bull in 2025 is the fact that the team has Max Verstappen on the team. The Dutch driver has already shown an intrinsic ability to just slog it out in the races and secure the best possible result. Pointing out how the 4-time champion is going to be an asset, Klien said:

"The positive thing is that they have Verstappen. He is such a fantastic driver. You could see it often last year. He did not always have the fastest car, but he managed to squeeze great races out of it. In the meantime, he is very smart and makes few mistakes. Max is ruthless and a fighter. That is a big advantage for Red Bull. But how it ends? We will all see when the first cars drive out in Australia this year."

The Dutch driver is vying for a 5th world title in 2025, and if he's able to secure it, he would match Michael Schumacher's achievement for the most consecutive titles.