Verstappen slammed with harsh F1 championship verdict

Max Verstappen has been slammed with a harsh championship verdict ahead of his 2025 Formula 1 campaign.

The Dutchman will attempt to defend his title and claim a fifth consecutive world championship this year, with the season getting underway in Melbourne, Australia on March 16.

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Verstappen heads into the new season with a new team-mate in Liam Lawson after Christian Horner and Helmut Marko opted to sack Sergio Perez following a consistent run of poor performances last year.

Perez finished the season with back-to-back DNFs and could only manage eighth place in the drivers' championship, compared to Verstappen's fourth consecutive title victory.

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Despite claiming another title with the team, Verstappen's 2024 campaign was one of his toughest yet as the Red Bull star faced competition from Lando Norris and McLaren.

Whilst Norris may not have been able to catch Verstappen in the drivers' standings, he did secure four grand prix wins and put the pressure on Verstappen for the first time since 2021.

Last year seven different drivers from four different teams stood on the top step of the podium ahead of the four-time champion, proving that Red Bull's days of domination are over.

In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, former F1 star and Red Bull athlete Gerhard Berger discussed the 2024 season, touching on why he was glad to see Verstappen finally face some competition from his rivals.

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"Actually, it was quite good because the dominance of one team was finally over," he said.

"We've seen it often enough. Ferrari with Schumacher, Mercedes with Hamilton, Red Bull with Verstappen.

"Everything revolved around one man, and that's exactly what the sport doesn't need. A situation like that is very pleasing for the respective team and driver, but as a spectator I want more variety, different teams and drivers who can win."

The former Ferrari driver also went on to mention how he had even been pushed away from the sport due to the dominance of one driver, admitting: "For many years I said that I prefer to watch MotoGP because I don't know who will win until the last corner. For a long time in Formula 1, I knew after the first corner. That changed last year.

"You had to watch the race until the end. If this continues to develop and an outsider wins under difficult conditions, then Formula 1 will be back where it should be."

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