Bernie Ecclestone has described Lando Norris as ‘cocky’ and ‘over-confident’, accusing the McLaren driver of believing his own hype. The former F1 supremo believes that Max Verstappen is the deserving title winner for 2025, tipping the Red Bull driver to complete his fairytale comeback in Abu Dhabi.

Norris, Verstappen and Oscar Piastri head into the season finale with designs on the 2025 F1 Drivers’ Championship crown, with 16 points separating the trio after 23 gruelling races until this point.

McLaren’s British star is the bookmakers’ favourite as a result of his 12-point cushion over Verstappen, while Piastri is four points further back from the Red Bull driver after a torrid run of form since his Dutch Grand Prix win in August. If Norris finishes third in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, he will win the title no matter what his rivals do.

According to Ecclestone, though, Verstappen has what it takes to overturn the deficit and become a five-time world champion. If he follows through on the 94-year-old’s prediction, he will match Michael Schumacher’s record of five consecutive Drivers’ Championship titles.

“I still believe Max will do it,” Ecclestone told Mail Sport. “He deserves it. I used to say Alain Prost was the best driver of all time, doing it on his own without a radio to the pit wall telling him what to do, but I think Max is the best I have known. He stands alone.

“Lando is fine, a really good driver, but he is over-confident, too cocky, believing his own publicity, but he gets nervous at crunch moments and can’t quite deliver the way Max can when the pressure is on.

“I said from the start of the season that Max would do it in the end, and I still believe that is the case. McLaren have been very helpful to Lando over Oscar, supporting him over the other guy, such as changing them around in Monza after Lando had a bad pit stop, and that way of working may yet be good for them, I don’t know. It’s not what I would have done.

“A bad pit stop is part of racing. You have to accept it, not engineer it. But you can never bet against Max. He is something special. He is one-off, and a super-nice guy, and I hope he gets the job done. He has nothing to lose, so that is also an advantage, too.”

Sunday’s race could potentially be a once-in-a-career opportunity for Norris and Piastri, but Verstappen is relaxed heading into the finale. The Dutchman was over 100 points behind the Championship leader after finishing second in Zandvoort, making this something of a free hit for the reigning champion.