Former McLaren driver claims Verstappen would have won F1 title MONTHS ago for Papaya team

Former McLaren star Alex Palou has revealed that Max Verstappen would have won the championship 'months ago' if he was racing in a McLaren F1 car.

Verstappen heads into this weekend's title showdown in Abu Dhabi 12 points behind championship leader Lando Norris, with an uphill battle in store if he is to claim a record-equalling fifth consecutive championship.

The Dutchman has remarkably claimed seven race wins this season despite Red Bull being third in the constructors' championship, and McLaren running away with that particular title.

To highlight Red Bull's 2025 struggles, Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda has only managed to claim 30 points in 21 race weekends with the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Now Palou, who is a four-time IndyCar champion and was a McLaren driver until 2023, has said that Verstappen would have wiped the floor with Norris and Oscar Piastri if he had been driving a McLaren this year.

Asked if he could have won the F1 title this year, Palou told Mundo Deportivo: "Would I have been champion with McLaren? I think so, but I don't know. I think I could have fought for it , but we'll never know. Maybe I got in the car and it was half a second slower. I've only driven it once, so it's hard to say.

"Max with the McLaren? Absolutely, yes, yes," he continued. "He would have won weeks ago, two months ago.

"Do I think I would have won? I'm telling you, yes, I could have fought, but I wouldn't have won two months earlier. But Max is the only one who would have."

Who will win the F1 title?

Norris' points advantage makes him the favourite heading into the final round, but Piastri's excellent performance throughout the Qatar GP weekend will give him hope that he has discovered his form just at the right time.

Four-time champion Verstappen, however, will now be full of confidence heading into Sunday's title decider, having won the last two grands prix.

The Dutchman has been in this position before, trying to claim a championship against the odds up against a British star at the Yas Marina Circuit, with Verstappen claiming his first title on the last lap of the 2021 season at the expense of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Abu Dhabi showdown on Sunday will be the first time since that day that we have headed into the final race not knowing who will claim title success.

It's also the first time since the 2010 edition of the race that more than two drivers can still win the title on the final day of the season.

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