Exclusive: This is how F1 legend Berger sees the title fight
Nov 20, 2025 2:49 p.m. | 3:29m
The title fight in Formula 1 is coming to a head. In an exclusive interview with us, ex-Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger talks about his World Cup favorite, the potential for success at McLaren and the crisis at Scuderia Ferrari.
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Would be world champion, I would say. Almost only has an outside chance. The Max has a hard time pulling the fish out of the water based on its own power. He needs a bit of luck on his side. Or let’s say the bad luck on the other side.
Well, I think you definitely shouldn’t underestimate it. He’s in a bit of a slump now. He was very strong at the beginning of the season. And Max Verstappen, we know that he has no fluctuations, that he is always there and that he strikes as soon as possible, as soon as the technology allows. But the gap is almost a bit too big to really say who has the best chance. But to answer the question again, I would guess something else.
It’s best to always allow for a chance of winning. This is an absolute winning driver. And the car. McLaren is currently the benchmark in the business.
Yes, of course. Because these two are of course both contenders for the world championship. If it was just one, then the team could say yes. You, pay attention, we put all our cards on this or that driver. And. And that’s why I’m staying out of tour and, and, and. And make sure that the World Cup is not taken away from us through our own fault. But in this case that doesn’t work. In this case, both drivers have to go all out and the team has to hope that the two. Not clashing or understanding them so well that they don’t get in each other’s way.
So I don’t have enough envy to really say where the problems actually lie. I always say the only two from my time or from the time I was there are now 45 or 40 years old, Lauda and Schumacher, who were able to operate Ferrari differently, to steer it differently than everyone else. And when I look back at Michel. He was also able to form a team around him with the support of Jean Todt. He was a great team manager at the time. And Michael Schumacher, as a hard-working, meticulous, disciplined worker, brought Ferrari to winning ways. Niki Lauda also has a similar similar constellation and you can just see that at Ferrari, if you just do drivers, it’s probably not enough. I think you really have to immerse yourself in Michael Schumacher again, day and night, in order to make it better. But it shouldn’t normally be the driver’s job, should normally be the manager’s job.