Verstappen rival issues championship threat ahead of 2025

One of Max Verstappen's main Formula 1 rivals delivered a title threat to the defending world champion ahead of the new season.

The Dutchman survived a dramatic drop-off in form midway through the 2025 campaign to eventually clinch a fourth consecutive drivers' crown.

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But Verstappen couldn't make it a double celebration, with Red Bull finishing behind both second-placed Ferrari and McLaren in the constructors' standings.

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While the 27-year-old was some way off his best in 2024, the team's failure to add to their trophy collection was primarily down to the efforts of team-mate Sergio Perez, whose poor run of results saw him dismissed following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December.

Liam Lawson will take the Mexican's place in 2025, and the Kiwi is just one of a number of racers looking to offer a serious challenge to the dominance of Verstappen.

Ferrari's blockbuster signing Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to win a record-breaking eighth championship in his new surroundings, while his new team-mate Charles Leclerc is still targeting his first.

And McLaren's talented pairing of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will also hope to in the mix come the business end of the season.

For much of 2024, Norris - who was involved in several intense on-track battles with Verstappen throughout the campaign - looked like the man set to knock Verstappen off his perch, before ultimately coming up short.

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The Brit, however, insists he has learned much from his experiences last year, and is feeling confident that he can go one better this time around.

"It's been a year where, actually, I've been pretty proud of my performance," he told the BBC podcast F1: Back at Base. "Proud of performing under the pressure that we've been under, delivering when I have.

"I've made my mistakes and, at the same time, I've learned a lot from those mistakes.

"So for us to go into next year, going 'we have what it takes, we have a car'... I believe I'm a good enough driver and I've got everything it takes.

"I'm excited to go into 2025 knowing I've learned a lot, I've improved a lot and I'm ready to bring the fight to everyone.

"Confidence is something I've struggled with in the past and probably I've only built enough up throughout this season to go, 'I'm confident that I'm a good enough driver to win a championship next year', and I can bring a fight to whoever wants to fight me for it."

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