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Max Verstappen finds "no reason" to watch out for his competitors after bookmakers put McLaren's Lando Norris ahead of him in the predictions for the 2025 F1 season. McLaren managed to win the Constructors' Championship last year with Norris finishing second in the standings.
The bookmakers' prediction for the 2025 F1 season recently dropped with Lando Norris being marked as a favorite this year, considering his performance in the second half of last year. He won multiple races, and the team won their first Constructors' Championship since 1998.
Reacting to this, Max Verstappen, who dominated the grid in 2022 and 2023, mentioned that he is more focused on himself. He also revealed his dislike for gambling (as quoted by GPBlog):
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"First of all, I don't like to gamble. But it's fine," Verstappen said. "We just have to focus on ourselves. There is no reason to look at others. We know we have to work on the car and that's what we will do."
Red Bull saw a lack of performance last year as the season progressed. While Max Verstappen did manage to win his fourth consecutive Drivers' Championship, it was solely because of his early wins and extremely consistent performance despite an underperforming car.
Meanwhile, his teammate at the time Sergio Perez, suffered the wrath of the underperforming car and had his contract terminated heading into 2025.
The team dropped to third place in the standings, their worst since 2021.
Max Verstappen speaks positively of his new Red Bull teammate in 2025
Shortly after the team terminated Perez's contract, they announced the signing of Liam Lawson, who drove for VCARB as Daniel Ricciardo's replacement from the US Grand Prix onwards.
Lawson has had a strong background in racing with very successful stints in the junior series including the Japanese Super Formula and the Formula 2 series, having finished them in second and third places, respectively. He previously drove for AlphaTauri in the 2023 season as well, replacing Ricciardo for a few races upon his fracture during the Dutch GP weekend that year.
Max Verstappen, looking ahead at working with the Kiwi this year, mentioned that he "deserves" his shot at Red Bull.
"We’ve seen each other at the photo shoots," he said (via F1). "I’m sure it’s going to be fine – I’ve seen Liam grow throughout the junior team and he fully deserves his shot with the team."
"I’m excited to work together and have a great season again."
While Max Verstappen would surely look ahead to chasing his fifth title, it could be a difficult task considering the team's performance at the end of the 2024 season. McLaren and Ferrari are said to be dominating forces on the grid, moreover, with Adrian Newey no longer a part of Red Bull for the first time in almost two decades, the team would face new challenges this year.
