Max Verstappen snubbed as F1 insiders pick driver to end McLaren's perfection

McLaren could match a stunning F1 record at the next grand prix at Zandvoort.

They have already racked up four 1-2 finishes in a row, and a fifth would tie them with Ferrari and Mercedes’ previous efforts.

Given they possess the fastest car in F1, and Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are the top two in the drivers’ standings, a fifth 1-2 finish on the spin is expected.

But Crash.net experts have pointed out when McLaren’s dominant race-winning form will end, and who will end it…

Connor McDonagh: The easy choice is Charles Leclerc. Since Ferrari’s upgrade at the Austrian Grand Prix, they’ve become F1’s second-fastest team.

Leclerc’s sudden drop in pace at the Hungarian Grand Prix is still a mystery. Numerous theories suggest that Ferrari were forced to manage the wear on the car’s underneath plank in the closing laps.

If Leclerc and Ferrari’s comments that the chassis issue was an “outlier” are taken at face value, they should be best placed to pick up the pieces in the second half of the season.

Ferrari always excel at Monza, so maybe that will be Leclerc’s next best chance?

Lewis Larkam: Ferrari have made progress recently, and while they are still lagging well behind McLaren, they appear to be the second fastest team of late.

Bearing that in mind, and given Hamilton’s struggles, Leclerc appears like the more likely Ferrari driver to win - even if he thinks the team have just blown their only shot of claiming a victory this year in Hungary.

Leclerc turned in a stunning drive to win at Monza last year. Backed by the Tifosi, could history repeat itself this year?

In all likelihood, for a non-McLaren driver to win they probably need at least one Papaya car to hit some kind of trouble, or each other.

Rachit Thukral: With Red Bull slipping further behind in recent races and even podiums becoming rare for Max Verstappen, neutral fans may be banking on Leclerc to spring a surprise in the second half of the season.

With five podiums already, he is clearly getting everything out of the Ferrari, and there’s every reason to expect him to remain in the fight. A repeat of his 2024 Monza victory would delight the tifosi, but Austin also looks promising given Ferrari’s recent track record at the US Grand Prix.

In the last 30 years, Ferrari has failed to win a race in just two seasons: 1994 and 2014. For the team to miss out again in 2025 - despite having the second-fastest car - would be a travesty. But to topple McLaren when the MCL39 is incredibly reliable and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are performing at their very best, Ferrari may need more than just pure pace….

Derry Munikartono: McLaren have been the unstoppable force of 2025. The MCL39 has crushed everything in its path, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris racking up wins like it’s a video game on easy mode. Right now, the only things that look capable of stopping them are random curveballs — like their strange slump in Canada — or the nightmare scenario of Piastri and Norris taking each other out under title pressure.

Realistically, the rest of this season will be painted papaya. But every dominant era has its outlier circuit, and for me, that’s Singapore. Just as Marina Bay broke Red Bull’s near-perfect 2023 season, it could be the one venue to snap McLaren’s winning streak. The tight, twisty streets, brutal humidity, and sheer mental grind are a recipe for chaos — and chaos usually means opportunity.

If someone’s going to pounce, my money’s on Ferrari. They’ve got history here, especially Carlos Sainz’s 2023 masterclass as the only non-Red Bull win in the RB19 era. This time, I’m tipping Charles Leclerc to get the job done under the Singapore lights. If McLaren are going to bleed, it’ll be here.