After the impressions of the test drives in Bahrain, McLaren goes as a favorite to the Formula 1 season 2025. The long-time F1-Zampano Bernie Ecclestone sees it, but does not believe that Lando Norris or Oscar Piatri stages Max Verstappen from the throne.
McLaren is before the start of the season in Melbourne (qualifying on March 15th Live at RTL) In a strong position, said Bernie Ecclestone in an exclusive interview with RTL/NTV and Sport.de: “There are two good drivers who are very confident. The car is good, there is nothing missing. There is no reason why you shouldn’t win the World Cup.”
With a view of the driver duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piatri, however, Ecclestones follows. “Whether one of the two will win the World Cup – I have my doubts. Give Max the right car and watch what happens.”
Norris, Vice World Champion of the previous season, is basically “capable” to win the World Cup. “But if it is as good as Max? The answer is: No!” Said the long-time Formula 1 boss.
For him, Max Verstappen is “absolutely” the favorite on his fifth driver title in series, emphasized Ecclestone. However, at Red Bull there is the question: “Have you made the necessary changes that McLaren got?”
Ecclestone: Verstappen also as a father at the maximum
McLaren is in “a position where you can only improve, while Red Bull is in a location in which you can only lose. That is the difference. We have to see whether Red Bull still has what it takes to win,” said the 94-year-old Brit.
Ecclestone does not believe that Verstappen loses the ominous daddy tenth after the birth of his first child in the course of the season. “Max is max. He will always give the absolute maximum that he can.”
The thesis, according to which fathers slow down in Formula 1, is not completely out of air. “But at the moment you sit in the car, you don’t have to worry about how the baby is doing. He has someone good who looks after the little one and will not worry,” Ecclestone alluded to Verstappen’s partner Kelly Piquet.