Has Charles Leclerc outperformed Max Verstappen in 2025 so far? All you need to know

Max Verstappen began the season in strong form and was considered to be a strong contender for the World Championship after winning the Japanese Grand Prix against the dominating McLarens. However, that form seems to have worn off more recently, as Red Bull's struggles with the car continue this year.

While McLaren has been fronting the grid in most races, there has been quite a battle going on behind them. Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull have been quite similar in terms of race pace. Verstappen so far remains the only non-McLaren driver to have won multiple races as well. However, that form wore off as the season progressed, as mentioned.

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc during the 2025 F1 Chinese GP (Getty Images)

Comparing his performance with that of Charles Leclerc, the latter seems to have outperformed the Dutchman. While Verstappen sits in third place in the championship standings with 187 points and Leclerc trails him with 151, the Ferrari driver has narrowed the gap in more recent races.

Since the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was the fourth round of the championship this year, Charles Leclerc has scored 131 points. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, with a race win, has scored 126 points (both including the Sprint races in Miami and Belgium).

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What factors kept Charles Leclerc apart from Max Verstappen early in the 2025 F1 season?

The season started rather competitively for Verstappen, and it was just polar for Leclerc. Ferrari struggled with handling and instability issues. Moreover, he was also disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix owing to excessive wear on his car's plank. Notably, he had finished that race in P5, right behind Verstappen.

At the same time, Max Verstappen managed to clinch the victory in Japan and subsequently in Imola. However, Red Bull's performance has been in decline since then. Ferrari introduced upgrades that helped Leclerc gain more control over the car and started finishing more consistently. He has so far managed to score five podiums, with a best of P2 in Monaco.

Verstappen does not expect Red Bull Racing to improve next year, either. Speaking to the media, he mentioned that the team might not be very strong because of the new engine regulations.

"But of course Red Bull are not going to be having any of that [advantage of being an engine manufacturer]. They're just going to be this badged Ford engine, but done in-house. And it's going to be interesting to see if they can do that. Can I see a bounce back next year? No."

Red Bull Racing will lose Honda as its engine supplier next year, and the team will focus on making its power units, which might not turn out to be competitive, considering that it is not its area of expertise. Still, Max Verstappen earlier confirmed that he has no plans to switch teams anytime soon.