Verstappen or Norris? Mario Andretti expects this driver to be F1 Champion

"I think it's still going to be Max," Andretti told GPblog during an exclusive interview. "He doesn't have to win. He can just be up on the podium and I think Lando will have to win most of the races. I've not calculated the mathematics of it, but I still think that Max is going to be the champion this year."

Red Bull struggle but 'still competitive'

Andretti comes to this conclusion despite knowing that Red Bull Racing has had quite a few problems in recent weeks and has been overtaken in terms of pace by Lando Norris' McLaren. "Well, they're having some problems, but they're still competitive. He's still competitive. He's not dominating, obviously, for sure."

According to Andretti, the excitement in Formula 1 is good for the sport. "I think from that standpoint, you can see that it's a good thing for the fans to know that it's not predictable like it was with the wonderful Michael Schumacher days. It was ‘who's going to finish second today?’ It's no longer like that at the moment, which is great. I think it's great for Formula 1."

McLaren dominance imminent?

On the other hand; it could just be that the sport is on the eve of a McLaren dominance. "But domination in Formula 1 is nothing new. This has been happening from the beginning of time. That's a characteristic of it, but then things start changing. Nobody can stay at the top forever. That's something we've seen.

"Interesting times right now. There's quite a bit of season left, no question. Things can change dramatically in that respect but at the same time, I still put my money on the teams that have been right there. Red bull has been suffering, no question. They make no bones about it but at the same time they're not out of it by any means," Andretti said.

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton