What a U-turn for Verstappen and Red Bull in 2025 compared to last year

10:23, 10 Aug

byTobia Elia

Let’s take a look at the points difference in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships at the start of the summer break between the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

After fourteen Grands Prix, the world of Formula 1 seems to have turned upside down when comparing the 2024 season with the 2025 season.

Max Verstappen

Main differences in drivers' standings

The first significant difference in the Drivers’ Championship standings concerns the top two positions, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris clearly ahead of the rest of the field, holding 285 and 274 points respectively.

Both McLaren drivers have significantly increased their points tally compared to last year, when Norris had 199 points and Piastri 167.

Last year, although McLaren had already started gaining ground on Red Bull as the season progressed, Max Verstappen led the standings with a commanding 277 points, compared to Norris’s 199 — a gap of 78 points behind the Dutch rival.

The four-time world champion is currently in third place this year with 187 points, a full 90 points fewer than last year.

Lewis Hamilton isn’t faring much better. Last year, he was also sixth after 14 races, but with 150 points compared to his current 109 — a drop of 41 points.

Ferrari’s crisis this year has inevitably affected Charles Leclerc as well. In 2025, he has accumulated 151 points compared to 177 last year, when he was in third place versus his current fifth position.

There’s been a dramatic drop for Carlos Sainz following his move to Williams (as expected), with the Spaniard scoring just 16 points this year compared to 162 in 2024.

George Russell, on the other hand, is doing very well, boasting 172 points compared to 116 last year — an impressive increase of 56 points for the Mercedes driver, who is now on the verge of renewing his contract following months of transfer speculation.

Main differences in constructors' standings

The difference is just as striking in the Constructors’ Championship. Last year, after 14 races, Red Bull led the standings with 408 points, boosted by Verstappen’s seven wins in the first ten races, even though McLaren and Ferrari had already started closing the gap.

This year, McLaren stands as the undisputed leader in the Constructors’ Championship with an impressive 559 points — more than double Ferrari’s 260 points in second place, which itself has dropped by 85 points compared to 2024.

Red Bull, on the other hand, currently sits as low as fourth with just 194 points — a staggering 214 points fewer than in 2024. This decline is due in part to the RB21’s performance issues and, most notably, the disappointing results from Liam Lawson followed by Yuki Tsunoda.

Mercedes, meanwhile, finds itself in a roughly similar position, though with 30 points fewer than last year. There’s also been significant growth from Williams and Sauber, who were second-to-last and last last year but have now climbed to fifth and seventh place, with 70 and 51 points respectively.