Carlos Sainz believes the second-half of the current F1 season proves that Max Verstappen is beatable to the drivers' title in 2025. Verstappen wrapped up his fourth straight crown in Las Vegas after an alarming drop in form from his Red Bull machine after winning seven of the first 10 races. In the 12 grands prix since, Verstappen has won just once, in Brazil, with Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes all winning multiple races. Sainz, who is to depart Ferrari for Williams in 2025, believes that the variety of winners in the second-half of the season shows that the field can beat Verstappen "week in, week out." "As much as I think Max has done an incredible job this year, it just shows the second half of the season, eight drivers within a tenth of each other, we could all beat him week in, week out," he told media including RacingNews365. "He was extremely good, you know, at dominating with a dominant car and extremely good at not making mistakes the second half of the season, and that's what's given him, for me, driver of the year and the championship. "But the second half of the season just shows that when we are all in equal, more of an equal machinery, we can all go up against each other and make each other's life difficult. "And everyone starts making mistakes when they're under pressure and everyone starts complaining about their car and everyone starts complaining in the media about their car. "It's all about pressure management and not having that margin. "Whenever you don't have a two, three-tenths margin on your nearest rival or your teammate, suddenly a pressure ramps up and everyone is human."
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