IndyCar champion: “Verstappen would have won the title there 2 months earlier”

The 2025 F1 season is famous: after the summer break, Max Verstappen made a phenomenal comeback, but in the end fell two points short of a fifth consecutive championship title. Despite this, the Dutchman was recognized as the best driver of 2025, and colleagues and team managers almost unanimously agreed with this.

Four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palu shares this sentiment. The Spaniard, who previously played for McLaren, does not even hesitate to compare Verstappen’s level with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastre.

Palu noted that he himself could fight for the title at McLaren, but there is no certainty:

“Would I become champion at McLaren? I think so, but I’m not sure. Could fight, but we’ll never know. The car was maybe half a second slower when I got behind the wheel. I’ve only driven it once, so it’s hard to say.”

Paul has no doubts about Verstappen:

“Absolutely, yes. He could have won the title at McLaren with weeks to go, maybe even two months. I could fight for the title, but not two months before the end of the season. And Max is the only one capable of such a thing.”