Toto Wolff claims Max Verstappen has ‘psychological advantage’ in F1 title fight

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has claimed reigning champion Max Verstappen has a psychological advantage over both McLaren drivers in this year's battle for the drivers' title.

Following the opening rounds of 2025, it quickly became clear that the improvements displayed by McLaren towards the end of 2024 had very much been carried over into this year's fight.

The British squad who only managed to beat one other team just seven years ago were now the ones to watch, and off the back off their first constructors' championship win in 26 years, they were only going to get stronger.

At the 2025 Singapore GP they secured the constructors' title again, meaning the team are now focused on securing their first drivers' title since Lewis Hamilton won it in 2008.

The papaya team currently occupy P1 and P2 in the standings, with Aussie racer Oscar Piastri leading the championship and team-mate Lando Norris now only 14 points behind, but with five rounds to go there is an unlikely underdog picking up rapid points and support- Verstappen.

Is Verstappen F1's new underdog?

Calling Red Bull's star driver an underdog just two years ago would have been laughable, in fact ever since his infamous maiden title win in Abu Dhabi back in 2021, the Dutchman has struggled to shake the view of many that he is F1's villain.

But Red Bull's 2025 struggles meant he was nowhere for most of this year's campaign but after picking up every possible point he could in COTA last time out, the disadvantages of leading the pack are becoming painfully clear to McLaren.

Speaking to media at last weekend's US Grand Prix, Wolff explained why he believes being the hunter is better than being the hunted in the fight for an F1 championship, drawing from the many close title fights he has experienced at the helm of Mercedes.

“I’ve been in a similar situation with two drivers fighting for a championship, and the threat of another one catching back in the day was Max, I believe, and then it was Sebastian [Vettel] in that hunt.

“So the underdog has always a little bit of an easier psychological advantage because of the probability," Wolff said.

Ahead of this weekend's race in Mexico, Verstappen is only 40 points behind Piastri and 26 behind Norris and although Wolff admitted the odds are against him, many are now rooting for the Red Bull driver to secure what could go down as his greatest championship yet.

“The odds are definitely against Max. If you look at the probability that’s very low, one DNS can change everything, and I think that affects the driving also," Mercedes' team principal continued.

“How aggressive can you actually go for an overtake? You can see with Lando today [in Austin], he’s done it at the end but it was tricky at times to decide whether you keep your nose, put your nose in, or not.”

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