The legend of Max Verstappen could potentially diminish under one condition according to F1 pundit

F1 pundit Alex Brundle has claimed that the legend of Max Verstappen could potentially be slightly tainted if the Dutchman is fighting at the lower end of the points for the rest of the 2025 season and the beginning of the 2026 season. Verstappen finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in ninth, highlighting Red Bull's drastic fall from when they were at the top just a year ago.

Having won the last four world drivers' championships in a row, Max Verstappen has secured himself as one of the greatest drivers in F1 history in many people's eyes. But throughout the 2025 season, it has become increasingly clear that the 27-year-old will not be able to defend his title yet again.

But according to F1 TV pundit Alex Brundle, it is important that Verstappen still keeps fighting at least near the front of the field for the rest of the season or his legacy as one of the sport's greatest ever drivers could be tarnished.

"Let's say he did the rest of the end of this season out of the back of the points, then went into the new regulation set and then the first half of next season with Red Bull as well; back end of the top 10, really struggling," Brundle said after the Hungarian GP. [via GPblog]

''The legend of Max Verstappen is definitely slightly dented then in comparison to him being out front, clearly outperforming a Red Bull, which is super tricky to drive and then delivering race results where he's slipping it by Piastri in Imola and being able to sort of lead races in a really difficult car," he added.

The McLaren team has moved into another planet when compared to the rest of the field in 2025, hindering Verstappen's title chances. But perhaps an even bigger hindrance has been the fall off of Red Bull, who have looked like the fourth or even fifth quickest package at multiple races this year, including in Hungary.

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Max Verstappen picked as the ideal Lewis Hamilton replacement at Ferrari by Italian pundit

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Belgian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Italian pundit and journalist Leo Turrini has picked Max Verstappen as his ideal replacement for Lewis Hamilton if the Briton were to retire from the sport. He also claimed that Verstappen will surely be driving for Ferrari at some point in his career.

When asked who could be the potential replacement for Hamilton if the 40-year-old decides to retire from F1, Turrini replied:

''If the question is purely hypothetical, free to ignore contracts, team dynamics, and all that, then I’d pick Verstappen every time. I actually think one day we’ll see him in red.'' [via Turrini's blog, Profondo Rosso]

But Hamilton does not seem to be going anywhere yet, even after his damning words about himself during the Hungarian GP. The 7x world champion vented out after the qualifying session at Budapest, branding himself as "useless", and urging Ferrari to hire another driver instead of him.