Max Verstappen was able to get the better of McLaren once again at the most recent round of racing in Qatar, and Christijan Albers has told McLaren where they fall short of the four-time world champion’s talents.
Despite locking out the front row in Lusail, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were unable to keep hold of the spot at the front of the pack once the chequered flag fell after 57 laps.
The Australian was able to limit the damage that Max Verstappen caused with his seventh win of the current campaign by taking second place. Fourth was the best position that his McLaren counterpart and the current championship leader could claim.
The decision to leave both Norris and Piastri out after a safety car was called for on lap seven proved to be the pivotal moment at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen benefited from a free pit stop during the incident that saw Nico Hulkenberg retire from the race, whilst the McLaren duo were left with it all to do as they tried to regain the time that was lost by the necessity to do a second pit stop under racing conditions.
Christijan Albers thinks McLaren only have themselves to blame if Max Verstappen steals the title away from them in 2025
During an appearance on De Telegraaf’s F1 podcast, former F1 driver Christijan Albers was asked about Verstappen’s chances of stealing the title away from Norris and the upcoming championship showdown in Abu Dhabi.
The Dutchman highlighted that there is most definitely a chance, and made it clear how badly McLaren will have let the title slip through their fingers if Verstappen does prove to be successful.
He said, “Now everyone is watching this race in Qatar and saying, ‘Oh, how has McLaren thrown it away?’ No, they have thrown it away many times before.
“You just have to really look closely and analyse well. And then you can see what they have all thrown away. Many driver errors, many mistakes from the crews as well, and also bad luck.
“I’m not even counting Norris with an engine issue in Zandvoort, but all the other things. If, for example, Norris comes into the midfield, then he completely falls behind and doesn’t score any points.
“The cool Piastri, who suddenly puts it in the wall, and so on. There’s always something. They can’t fight like Verstappen or, for example, a Leclerc or a Russell.
“You know, really fight their way forward. Widen their shoulders, or their elbows. It’s just not in them, and that might be the reason.”
The 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marks the first time since 2010 that there are three title contenders at the season closer
Norris now holds a very slender 12-point advantage over Verstappen in the F1 standings, and 16 points over Piastri, who fell out of the top two places of the championship for the first time since before the Bahrain Grand Prix.
With the upcoming round at the Yas Marina Circuit serving as the final race of this year’s campaign, it marks the first time since 2010 for there to be three championship hopefuls at the season-closer.
The 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw each of Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton arrive at the circuit with a chance of securing the title that year.
Vettel reigned supreme, despite entering the weekend with a 15-point deficit to the championship leader at the time, Alonso.
Alonso was infamously stuck behind Renault’s Vitaly Petrov for the entirety of the race and, due to the nature of the Yas Marina Circuit, was unable to make an overtaking manoeuvre stick.
If 2010 is anything to go by, the title truly is up for grabs between the three championship protagonists this weekend.
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