Brundle: Verstappen starts the 2025 season as the favourite

Brundle has gone against the popular consensus that emerged after the F1 pre-season test in Bahrain, where McLaren appeared to maintain their edge over their rivals while Red Bull Racing did not enjoy a decent test; their RB21 clearly not a front runner, not to mention their low mileage.

Verstappen also recently claimed that he would not be fighting for the win at the F1 season opening this weekend in Melbourne.

"It looked okay in Bahrain at the test," Brundle commented. "They were saying that they’ve fixed a lot of last year’s problems, but we also saw Max out on track, shaking his head once and spinning up the wheels because he was angry the car went around on him.

"I didn’t sense it was exactly glued to the race track, but they were pretty tricky conditions in that pre-season test," he pointed out.

However, the veteran of 158 grands prix insisted Verstappen is still the man to beat in 2025; he said: "For me, Max starts the season as the favourite.

"He will be clear number one in that team, and Red Bull should have fixed it. He’s so fast, he’s so good. He knows how to win multiple championships—so does Lewis [Hamilton].

“His main rivals so far don’t know how to win any F1 world championships—Charles [Leclerc], George [Russell], Lando, Oscar Piastri too.

"I think Max should start the season [as the favorite]. Whoever wins this year’s world championship will win a binding world championship," Brundle concluded.

The Australian Grand Prix will kick off the 2025 F1 season on March 14-16.