Max Verstappen and Red Bull are confronting serious challenges in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Despite securing four consecutive world championships, Verstappen is now competing amid a sharp decline in Red Bull’s car performance, highlighting the team’s increasing reliance on him. Martin Brundle, an experienced F1 presenter, has issued a candid assessment of the Austrian team’s situation.

Max Verstappen’s Role as Red Bull’s Sole Competitive Driver

Since 2019, Max Verstappen has been Red Bull’s main front-running driver, essentially carrying the team’s performance on his shoulders. This season, nearly all of Red Bull’s points have come from the Dutch driver, emphasizing his exceptional skill in extracting speed despite difficulties. However, this dependence has simultaneously underscored Red Bull’s shortcomings in car development and competitiveness.

At Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen’s qualifying pace drew particular attention. Martin Brundle praised the Dutchman’s ability to adapt his driving style on the fly, maintaining control even as the car became unsettled. Brundle described one of Verstappen’s pole laps as “laser-guided,” noting the finesse with which he managed steering inputs to carry speed through challenging conditions.

“Yeah, he’s put some laps in, I think I described one of his pole positions as laser-guided. It was just a beautiful way he was controlling the steering. The car’s moving around, Max can handle that. He just changed his driving style a little bit and carries the speed.”
—Martin Brundle, F1 Presenter

Verstappen’s Limitations Amid Red Bull’s Performance Deficit

Despite delivering moments of brilliance, Martin Brundle emphasized that Verstappen cannot single-handedly overcome Red Bull’s performance issues throughout the entire season. The team’s pace disadvantage became especially clear in recent races where Verstappen struggled to challenge McLaren’s cars, revealing a meaningful gap in overall speed and downforce.

Brundle highlighted Verstappen’s courage at Spa, where the car’s reduced rear wing downforce forced the driver to take critical corners at high speed, sometimes flat out. While Verstappen succeeded in these instances, Brundle cautioned against expecting the 27-year-old to carry such a burden continuously during the demanding F1 calendar.

“Super brave in Spa, for example, with the skinny [rear wing] downforce, taking some of those really critical corners flat out. And he can do it. But, you know, you can’t pick a car up and carry it for a whole season.”
—Martin Brundle, F1 Presenter

How 2025 Challenges Are Affecting Verstappen’s Reputation

Max Verstappen is widely regarded as one of Formula 1’s all-time greats, having rewritten the sport’s record books and secured four world titles before turning 28. Nevertheless, this season’s struggles with a difficult car have raised questions about the durability of his legacy. Brundle suggested that these struggles have, to some extent, tarnished Verstappen’s previously unassailable image in the sport.

Despite consistently outperforming a car that is tough to drive, Verstappen’s results have been less commanding this year. Brundle observed that the Dutchman has even been overtaken by competitors like Oscar Piastri at races such as Imola, a sign of the broader competitive challenges he faces. These moments have chipped away at the aura of dominance Verstappen previously held.

“The legend of Max Verstappen is definitely slightly dented then in comparison to him being out front, clearly outperforming a Red Bull, which is super tricky to drive and then delivering race results where he’s slipping it by Piastri in Imola and being able to sort of lead races in a really difficult car. So, he still needs to be that problem even though he knows he’s not going to win the championship now.”
—Martin Brundle, F1 Presenter

Verstappen’s Determination and the Road Ahead for Red Bull

Throughout the 2025 season, Max Verstappen continues to push the limits of both himself and his machinery, leaving no effort spared to improve race outcomes. Although he remains focused and committed, the shortcomings of Red Bull’s car have effectively ended his hopes of defending his world championship this year.

Looking forward, Verstappen and Red Bull face a critical period: the need to regroup and revamp their approach to regain competitiveness. The four-time world champion’s immediate focus will likely be on securing the best possible results for the remainder of the season and preparing to return stronger in 2026.