Sebastian Vettel was wrong about the next F1 world champion after Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

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Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will go head-to-head for the Formula 1 world championship across the final 10 races. Piastri leads his McLaren teammate by just nine points.

Earlier in the year, it appeared as if Max Verstappen, who has won the last four titles, could be a dark horse. Verstappen won two of the first seven Grands Prix and was only 22 points off the pace.

But that gap has ballooned to 97 since, with Verstappen ruling himself out of contention. McLaren are simply too fast for anybody else to stand a realistic chance, particularly with almost every team halting their development with an eye on 2026.

Piastri and Norris are vying to become the first new champion since Verstappen in 2021, and only the third since Sebastian Vettel’s maiden triumph in 2010.

In fact, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have won 10 of the last 11 championships between them. One could argue a new addition to the roll of honour is well overdue.

Sebastian Vettel picked George Russell to be F1’s next new champion

In April last year, Vettel was asked to predict the next driver not named Verstappen or Hamilton to lift the championship trophy. At the time, the Dutch superstar had won three out of four races to start the season.

McLaren had made impressive progress, but still appeared a long way from challenging Christian Horner’s squad. Third in the championship, they had less than half the points of the early leaders (69 vs 141).

But a huge Miami Grand Prix upgrade made them the fastest team in F1. Norris couldn’t reel in Verstappen’s early lead, but at the start of 2025, McLaren asserted their dominance.

Vettel picked George Russell to end the Hamilton/Verstappen duopoly, but that prediction won’t come true. While still mathematically in with a shout, he’s now 112 points behind Piastri.

Russell has made it clear since April that he doesn’t view himself as a challenger due to Mercedes’ pace disadvantage. Clearly, Vettel didn’t see the McLaren juggernaut coming.

George Russell makes brave Michael Schumacher comparison as he waits for Mercedes breakthrough

Russell has been one of the top performers in F1 this year, with only the McLaren duo bettering his haul of six podiums. He feels he’s ready to win a title, but just needs the car.

In a recent interview, Russell suggested he could emulate Michael Schumacher, who had to wait until his fifth year at Ferrari to win the title. It’s always brave for a driver to make that kind of comparison, but his optimism may be well-founded.

After all, the consensus is that Mercedes have built the ICE for the 2026 regulations. If they nail the battery too, they could have a class-leading package.

The Silver Arrows were untouchable the last time F1 launched rule changes of this magnitude. If history repeats itself, then Russell could belatedly justify Vettel’s faith.