“Verstappen has an advantage in the fight with McLaren”

Max has had excellent performances in recent races and is now just 40 points behind leader Piastri with just 5 races remaining on the Formula 1 calendar.

Toto Wolff, verdict on the title fight: “The follower always has a psychological advantage”

“We've been in this situation before, where two drivers are fighting for the title and behind them comes another who is a threat to them. First it was Sebastian Vettel, now it's Max Verstappen in that role.

The follower, who is not the favorite, always has a psychological advantage because of the opportunities he has in front of him. The odds are not on Max's side. The probability of him becoming champion is small, one unfinished race can change everything and I think this is also reflected in his driving style.

How aggressive can you be when attacking? We saw what happened to Lando in Austin, there were enough moments when he had to decide how to attack, precisely because of the overall picture,” Toto Wolff said, according to sportal.bg.

Martin Brundle contradicts him: “The advantage is with McLaren because they fight two against one”

Former Formula 1 driver and current TV pundit Martin Brundle has commented on the title battle at the 'Grand Circus' and believes the McLaren drivers have a major advantage over Max Verstappen.

In the last five races, Verstappen has won 119 points out of a possible 133. At this pace, Max will win the title, but at some of the upcoming circuits we'll be back to McLaren's usual strong performance. But there is no doubt that Red Bull currently have the better car and Max is in top form

McLaren's advantage is that they fight two against one. McLaren will need to play this asset very well in every race between now and the end of the season in Abu Dhabi. Max doesn't approve of sprint races, but these weekends suit his talent and confidence perfectly, and the series of sessions after the one free practice session has a cumulative effect. For others it's like falling behind in a peloton of riders, then it's hard to get back to the front

-Martin Brundle

Formula 1 driver standings with 5 races to go

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 346 points

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 332

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 306

4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 252

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 192

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 142

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 89

8. Alexander Albon (Williams) – 73

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber) – 41

10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 39

11. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 38

12. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 37

13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 32

14. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 30

15. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 28

16. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 28

17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 20

18. Oliver Bearman (Haas) – 20

19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) – 18

20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0

21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0