“Max Verstappen can do the impossible”: Former F1 Insider takes a cheeky jibe at Lando Norris with latest championship statement

Max Verstappen has surprisingly clawed his way back into the title fight with a couple of dominant victories in Monza and Baku, cutting Oscar Piastri’s lead in the drivers’ standings to 69 points. With seven races and three sprints left on the calendar, former F1 insider Will Buxton believed that the Red Bull star remained a real threat.

McLaren, though, still holds the upper hand. The team has won 12 of the 17 races this season and stands on the brink of sealing the constructors’ championship at Singapore, needing only 13 more points. Verstappen’s late surge, however, has shifted the conversation.

Speaking on the Fast and the Curious podcast, Buxton reflected on how quickly momentum can change in this sport.

"We'd this discussion last year about Lando? And I said, ‘Not only can he win it, but he will win it.’ And I got to be honest, I said that mainly because I was working for F1 at the time and I wanted to keep interest in the second half of the season. I'm not gonna lie. I didn’t really think he had much of a shot, but I thought, let’s pump this as much as we can," Buxton said. (13:25 onwards)

That prediction from 2024 didn’t hold as Lando Norris faded with only one victory in the final six races, and Max Verstappen claimed the title by 64 points. Twelve months later, the script feels familiar. With seven race weekends left, Piastri leads, Norris sits second, and Verstappen's back-to-back pole-to-flag wins bring him back into contention.

Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris before the F1 Grand Prix of Japan. Source: Getty

In Baku, Oscar Piastri’s weekend unraveled with a Q3 crash, a jump-start, and then a first-lap crash that forced him to retire early. Norris, stuck in traffic and unable to make progress, finished only seventh. Buxton, looking at the form swing, doubled down on Verstappen’s chances:

"If it was anyone else, you’d probably say it’s tough. Lando had two-thirds of a season to overcome that kind of a deficit (in 2024). Couldn’t do it. But this isn’t Lando. This is Max. And Max can do the impossible. And all it’s going to take is, another Piastri implosion or for McLaren to start getting freaked out about team orders... and start handing these points over to Max." (13:51 onwards)

McLaren still has the fastest package on the grid, but that hasn’t prevented errors from drivers. Principal Andrea Stella admitted after Baku that Max Verstappen’s resurgence poses a threat, particularly with the team’s drivers under increasing pressure.

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Max Verstappen eyes elusive Singapore GP in bid to keep title hopes alive

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing during previews at Marina Bay Street Circuit. Source: Getty

The 2025 Singapore Grand Prix comes with its own layers of history. Marina Bay, with 62 laps under the lights and three DRS zones, remains the only active circuit where Max Verstappen has not yet succeeded. He has won at 26 different venues across his career, but Singapore has been his only bogey track.

Verstappen's best results at the track are runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2024. He, though, is not dwelling on the past.

"It’s like any other, I just try to do my best. Of course, I know in the past this has not been particularly our strongest track, plus sometimes a bit unfortunate to get a better result around here. I’m relaxed, just having fun, here and outside of F1," he told, via F1.com.

That calmness has only grown after his recent Nürburgring win, where he made his NLS debut at the Nordschleife during the one-week break. The experience, he admitted, has given him added confidence, heading to the championship grind.

For Max Verstappen, the focus is to perform in Singapore. The championship talk may swirl louder after Baku, but the Red Bull driver has framed it as just another weekend.