Martin Brundle draws ‘clear’ Red Bull and Mercedes conclusion despite McLaren prediction

Wrapping up the Constructors’ in Singapore and still on course for the double, Martin Brundle reckons McLaren could yet win four of the last seven races but he doubts the team will dominate.

Instead, he believes the Woking team will be under pressure from Red Bull and Mercedes, although “the same can’t be said” for Ferrari.

Martin Brundle: It seems clear that Red Bull and Mercedes have closed the gap

McLaren secured the Constructors’ Championship title at the Singapore Grand Prix, the Woking team taking an unassailable lead in the standings to make it two in two years.

But despite being the dominant force before the summer break, with seven 1-2 grand prix results, McLaren only made it stick at the second time of asking as it fell short in Azerbaijan when Max Verstappen claimed a back-to-back win to go with his Monza victory to stall McLaren’s bid.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri grabbed the necessary points in Singapore where, team drama aside, they handed McLaren its second teams’ trophy in as many years. McLaren sits 325 points clear of Mercedes with only 303 points still in play.

As for the Drivers’, that could go either way with Norris only 22 points down on Piastri.

F1 2025: The season’s winners and losers

👉 The results of the F1 2025 championship

👉 The updated Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

The teammates, though, are no longer alone in the fight with Verstappen clawing points back against both McLaren drivers for the third race in successive with his runner-up result behind George Russell in Singapore.

It is, as Brundle put it, a long shot but it’s still a shot as Red Bull and Mercedes have closed the gap to McLaren.

“All the talk was of Max Verstappen having a long shot at beating the two McLaren drivers to the championship, and McLaren sealing that Constructors’ title, but after feeling unwell and smashing his car into the barriers on Friday, Russell grabbed the headlines,” he wrote in his post-race Singapore GP column for Sky F1.

“As we have become used to, the field are so tightly matched performance wise now and we F1 fans really need to cherish these times, even if overtaking has become increasingly difficult with such heavily aero-loaded and well-sorted cars.

“It’s tough out there, which means that if a driver has a relatively disappointing qualifying performance, they won’t just be a row or two back on the grid, but nearer five rows.

“The McLaren excels in long high-speed corners and track surfaces with high tyre wear and degradation, and we haven’t been to one of those lately.

“The team expects normal service to resume in Brazil, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, and to be relatively better in Austin, but it seems clear that Red Bull and Mercedes have closed the gap.”

However, one team that he reckons is out of the running is Ferrari.

Although the Italian stable was P2 for much of the season, Ferrari is now just eight points ahead of Red Bull in the race to finish the F1 2025 championship on the podium.

“Sadly, the same can’t be said for Ferrari, who continue to be off the leading pace, albeit best of the rest despite two fine drivers in Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

“Leclerc would finish this race in sixth some 46 seconds adrift of the winner, and Hamilton a brake-less eighth despite doing well to coax his car home.”

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