Verstappen told fifth F1 title already out of reach

Max Verstappen will not win his fifth F1 title this year, according to Dutch racing driver Tim Coronel.

Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive championship in 2024 despite Red Bull slipping back in the pecking order in the mid-part of the campaign.

McLaren's Lando Norris was able to close the gap as the year progressed - however, Verstappen's healthy advantage from the opening rounds was enough to see him seal the title.

The upcoming F1 season is predicted to be a closely fought affair between multiple teams in the final year of the current regulation cycle.

Speaking to RacingNews365, Coronel was asked if anyone is going to dethrone Verstappen this year, to which he immediately replied: “Lando Norris.

“You're as good as your last race, and he's just ridiculously good. 

“You saw in the last race [in Abu Dhabi] that Carlos Sainz took a shot and then Norris was able to accelerate again. So he just has what it takes. 

“McLaren will be the best team with the best car, and then if Norris isn't under too much pressure, he'll do his thing nicely as well.”

Coronel has backed Norris to deploy a more robust approach to racing Verstappen this year after the Briton declared he would get his “elbows out” for the season ahead.

As a result, Coronel sees Norris building a healthy lead in the early stage of the season en route to title success.

“In the last half of the season, he [Verstappen] was smart and had a few lucky moments, and he made sure that Norris couldn't catch up so quickly,” Coronel added. 

“But actually, Norris should have thrown all the punches with that car. That was more about Norris than the car. 

“I think Norris has grown along the way and those problems will no longer be there. So I think Norris will distance himself at the start."