Another dominant season from Max Verstappen would be a ‘disaster’ for Formula 1 fans and commentators according to a veteran who believes the Dutchman is the best driver in the sport
An ex-Formula 1 driver is desperate to not see Max Verstappen dominate the 2025 season and believes it will be a disaster if he does so. The Dutchman has won four consecutive world championships with Red Bull and Marc Surer wants to see a competitive year of racing.
Verstappen claimed the title in 2024 with two races to spare, having won five of the opening seven races of the campaign. That paled in comparison to the previous season in which Verstappen stood atop the podium in all but three races on his way to glory.
His start last term led to some concerns over Red Bull’s dominance but McLaren and Lando Norris were able to provide some pressure, as the RB20 fell behind the MCL38 in performance.
Surer believes Verstappen is the most talented driver on the grid but is hopeful that his rivals can provide some competition over the next 12 months. The racer-turned broadcaster was happy that last season saw McLaren able to offer some competition.
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“If Max Verstappen dominates again it will be a disaster, not only for the fans but also for me as a TV commentator,” Sure told told Makthavare.se. “Last year when he won the first two races, I said ‘please no, not again’. But then, it turned out to be the best season for a long time.
“I expect the same this year because the regulations have not changed so the cars are close together and we will have different winners on different circuits.”
The opening race of 2025 offered some encouragement for Surer’s hopes. Verstappen finished as runner-up to Norris in Melbourne.
The 27-year-old Dutchman believes his team lack speed in comparison to McLaren currently. He nevertheless managed to compete for the win, despite falling short.
“Yeah it was a difficult race, of course, but at the end, it was fun,” he said. “Lando had a moment on entry of Turn Six, so he lost momentum there, so that’s why I got close and got DRS.
“I got close but it’s very hard to pass around here. It was fun, those last laps, pushing, at least when you’re fighting for the win. I’m just very happy to bring it home, score good points. This is a decent starting point for us.”
Norris played down talk of the car and instead praised his team after taking victory at the weekend. “I don’t know why people talk about the car so much,” he said.
“I’m not denying we have a good car, but not everything is about the car. Today was a deserved win because we made good decisions as a team.
“In the past, like last year, we would have done the same race and we wouldn’t have won the race because we were not the best at making those decisions. But today we were and I give a lot of credit to the team because they worked hard over the winter to make sure we were ready for a day like today.”
