Robert Irwin may have captured the hearts of “Dancing With the Stars” fans this season, but not everyone is convinced he’s the one to beat. Former pro Maks Chmerkovskiy recently shared his honest take on Season 34’s frontrunners, and while he praised Irwin’s performances, he made it clear he doesn’t see the wildlife conservationist as the “leader of the pack,” especially with competitor Whitney Leavitt in the mix.

Irwin Is Not a Frontrunner on ‘Dancing With the Stars’?

While Irwin is definitely a fan favorite for season 34, it looks like Maks doesn’t believe he is a shoo-in to win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy this season.

Maks sat down with his wife, Peta Murgatroyd, for her podcast, “The Penthouse with Peta,” and they discussed the frontrunners for “Dancing With the Stars” season 34.

Peta started the conversation, asking, “So, is Robert still the leader of the pack, though?” She went on to say that midway through the competition, she believes that Whitney Leavitt is “so far ahead of everybody” else.

However, Maks seems to think a little bit differently from his wife. Maks makes the claim, “First of all, Robert was never the leader of the pack.”

This got a gasp from Peta, as Maks continued, “Robert is not the leader of the pack, as long as Whitney is on the show, Robert is not a leader of the pack.”

It Will Come Down to the ‘DWTS’ Finale

Chmerkovskiy dived deeper into the subject. He believes that Whitney is “halfway there,” but thinks that Robert is already firing on all “cylinders” right now.

He wasn’t bad-mouthing Irwin in any way, as he added that Robert is doing well and he’s executing the choreography very well. However, he isn’t too confident in the fact that winning season 34 is a runaway for Irwin.

Maks said, “I believe that if Robert wins the show, he takes it out of Whitney’s hands.”

When all is said and done, Chmerkovskiy said the “Dancing With the Stars” season 34 finale will decide it all. He thinks their freestyle dances will be the decision maker on who wins.

An Early Frontrunner

Regardless of what Maks is saying, Irwin has been a fan favorite way before the season started. The public loves the Irwin family. They have been wanting Robert to be on the show ever since his sister, Bindi Irwin, won the Mirrorball Trophy during season 21 with her partner Derek Hough.

Robert was also the first contestant announced for season 34, so he had a ton of early support. Our pre-season predictions had Robert winning it all with his partner Witney Carson. The fans love him, so that has to turn into votes, right?

Do you agree with Maks and don’t think Robert Irwin is a frontrunner on “Dancing With the Stars” season 34?