Wolff pinpoints key Verstappen advantage in F1 title battle

Red Bull star Max Verstappen has the psychological advantage of being the underdog in the battle for the F1 2025 drivers' championship.

That is according to Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, who has offered his verdict on the current fight for the title, with Verstappen closing in on McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Heading into this weekend's Mexico Grand Prix, Piastri remains top of the drivers' standings but just 14 ahead of Norris in second, and crucially, only 40 ahead of Verstappen in third.

Verstappen was able to reduce the deficit to that after a dominant weekend at the US Grand Prix, where he took maximum points by winning both the sprint race and main event.

Wolff: Verstappen has 'psychological advantage'

“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.

“The odds are definitely against Max," Wolff added. "If you look at the probability, that’s very low, one DNF can change everything, and I think that affects the driving also.

“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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