Max Verstappen has lost the lead of the Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship for the first time in a remarkable 1,030 days following the Australian Grand Prix.
The opening round of the 2025 F1 season has taken place around Albert Park in Melbourne with the Red Bull driver seeking to win his fifth world title in a row.
However, Verstappen was a close second to McLaren's Lando Norris who took the opening race win in 2025 to lead the drivers' standings for the first time in his career.
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In doing so, Verstappen has relinquished a lead on a drivers' standings which he has held for more than 1,000 days.
The last time Verstappen did not lead the drivers' standings was back in 2022 prior to the Spanish Grand Prix, when he overtook Ferrari's Charles Leclerc with victory in Barcelona.
The Dutchman went on to claim the 2022 title and was unsurpassed throughout the course of the whole 2023 and 2024 seasons.
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Based upon pre-season testing and the Melbourne weekend, McLaren appear to be the team to beat in 2025 after building upon winning the Constructors' Championship last season in what is expected to be a four-way duel throughout the year also including Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari.
Verstappen has now reacted to the opening round's action which has seen him lose top spot in the drivers' championship for the first time since May 2022.
Taking to Instagram to reflect on the weekend, Verstappen wrote: "Tricky conditions but good fun! Solid start, let’s keep pushing @redbullracing."
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Speaking after the race, Verstappen expanded further on the contest around Albert Park, which took place on a wet and slippery track.
The Dutchman ended up just under a second behind Norris at the chequered flag, but there was a stage in the first part of the race where the McLaren driver and his team-mate Oscar Piastri flew away from Verstappen whose tyres fell off a cliff and a 15-second gap opened up.
Nevertheless, Verstappen was pleased with the weekend's outcome and that he came away with 18 points from a race which he retired from last year.
He said: "As the tyres started to overheat we had no chance and yet basically McLaren just took off.
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"So we still have a lot of work to do to fight for a win, but I'm very happy that we are second here, it's basically one place better than we should have been. We'll do our best."
He added: "I think it is where I expected to be. You can see also in that first stint we were lacking a little bit of pace compared to the McLaren, but it's still 18 points more than what I had here last year."
Topics: Max Verstappen, Formula 1, McLaren, Red Bull Racing, Lando Norris
John McDougall