Norris overlooked as Brundle reveals his standout driver of 2025

Lando Norris may have ended the season as Formula 1’s newest world champion, but when it comes to naming the standout driver of the year, Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle has looked elsewhere.

In his view, the most complete performer across the campaign was not the man lifting the trophy in Abu Dhabi – but the one who pushed him all the way to the brink.

Max Verstappen fell just two points short of a fifth consecutive title after a dramatic late-season charge that transformed a seemingly lost championship fight into one of the closest in F1 history.

Despite driving a Red Bull that was often second-best to McLaren machinery, the Dutchman won more races than anyone else and dragged himself back into contention with a relentless run after the summer break.

For Brundle, that was enough to seal his verdict.

Max Is Still the Best

Speaking at a MotorSport Magazine event in London last week, Brundle made his choice clear.

“That would be Max [Verstappen],” he said when asked about his top pick for 2025.

“Lando did a super job. He got really strong in the head, drove beautifully. Some of the races that he won, he absolutely dominated in a style I’ve seen very few drivers do in the 40 years I’ve been around F1.

“But you’d have to say Max is still the best driver on the grid.”

It is high praise in a season where Norris claimed his maiden title after a hard-fought, often chaotic, 24-race marathon – one Brundle also took time to reflect on in his final Sky Sports F1 column of the year.

Praise For a Champion – Flaws and All

“Congratulations to Lando Norris on becoming Formula 1 world champion after a fine, but sometimes intense and challenging, 24 races,” Brundle wrote.

“His victories in Melbourne, Monaco, Austria, Silverstone, Hungary, Mexico, and Brazil, with a total of 18 trips to the podium, were the highlights.”

But Brundle did not shy away from the lows that shaped Norris’ journey.

“The low moments would be crashing into his team-mate Oscar Piastri in Canada with a clumsy move, a retirement in Zandvoort with oil issues, failing to take advantage of Piastri's nightmare weekend in Baku with a lowly seventh, technical disqualification in Las Vegas, and a poor strategy call by the team in Qatar limiting him to fourth.

“It was a rollercoaster season to say the least.”

But what impressed Brundle most was how Norris responded.

“To handle all that, Lando made a big step forward in mind management this season, and he began to regularly convert pole position into the lead at the end of the first lap, a good example of which was Mexico's enormous run down to the first corner whilst slipstreaming the whole pack behind from pole position,” he said.

Brundle concluded by detailing Norris’ growth under pressure this season.

• Read also: Norris says Zandvoort setback fueled, not freed, his title charge

“He handled pressure situations much better, whether it was in qualifying, racing, or indeed out of the car.

“His racecraft has always been good and that was ramped up this year with more incisive overtakes and defending, and tyre management such as his Pirelli whispering victory in Budapest, much to Piastri's chagrin.”

As the dust settles on 2025, Brundle's insights remind us that championships are won on points, but true greatness is etched in the moments that defy the odds.

With Verstappen still holding the crown in the eyes of experts like Brundle, the stage is set for an electrifying 2026 showdown.

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