Martin Brundle says McLaren have an ‘ace card’ to use against Max Verstappen in the 2025 title race

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McLaren are looking over their shoulder and may be worried about the prospect of Max Verstappen going on to win the 2025 Formula 1 title.

Out of nowhere, the Dutchman has launched an offensive which nobody in the Formula 1 paddock saw coming. Not even himself. Bolstered by Red Bull’s refusal to give up on the RB21 just yet, there’s now going to be an epic three-way fight with five races to go.

Verstappen currently trails Oscar Piastri by 40 points in the drivers’ championship, but he has all the momentum. In each of the last five races, he has finished inside the top two and has outscored both McLaren drivers comfortably.

Red Bull have their swagger back and are already starting to play tricks. In COTA, they received a fine for tampering with Lando Norris’ grid tape (a reference to help him with his starts). McLaren’s race was ruined by ride height anyway, and they know where they must improve.

READ MORE: Lando Norris just broke Alain Prost’s 37-year McLaren record at the United States Grand Prix

Martin Brundle insists McLaren’s ‘ace card’ is having two drivers against Max Verstappen

Norris had a ‘horrendous’ problem and really struggled with overtaking at the United States Grand Prix. It was a concept he also faced in 2024. He was, at least, far ahead of his teammate, which helped him close the gap in the standings, but he will have expected more from himself.

Potentially, he might have won on Sunday, but McLaren were conservative with their setup after having very little data to go by. A double retirement on lap one of the sprint race badly affected their weekend, and left them guessing a little.

Norris kept making a big mistake, but eventually found a workaround, while Piastri looked miles behind him. That hasn’t happened too much in 2025, but for the rest of the campaign, Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle believes that the team have an ‘ace card’ up their sleeves that Red Bull does not.

“McLaren’s ace card is that it’s two against one, and they are going to need to play that very well on every GP weekend until and including Abu Dhabi.”

Despite Yuki Tsunoda’s improvements, he still isn’t in the picture enough to have an influence on strategy. If ever there was a time for him to step up and contribute for Red Bull, it’s now. They need him more than ever in the fight against McLaren.

READ MORE: The ‘stark difference’ between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris’ moods after crash at United States GP

Why Max Verstappen won’t be bothered about McLaren’s ‘ace card’ in the F1 title fight

For the last few seasons, Verstappen has become accustomed to fighting for victories and podiums with a rear-gunner to assist him.

It means that at Red Bull, there is no change. Meanwhile, McLaren must accept that having two cars in the fight might become a hindrance over the next few weeks.

It’s hard to imagine Norris or Piastri being willing to work with each other too much, particularly when they’re fighting each other for top honours.

It’s going to create some tension within the team, when their rivals are going to be pretty relaxed about the situation. It should give Red Bull an advantage.