Max Verstappen has contended that he won’t be in contention to win the Formula 1 title in 2025 amid the tribulations that Red Bull has endured at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Verstappen has come into this weekend a single point behind championship leader Lando Norris, having usurped the McLaren drivers with a sensational showing in Japan.
But while he will line up one place behind Norris on the grid in Sakhir, that owed more to the Briton slipping up on his last lap in Q3 rather than Red Bull rivalling McLaren.
Indeed, the Dutchman rued issues with the brake pedal on his Red Bull compounding the trouble that he was experiencing with the RB21’s recalcitrant quirks over one lap.
Having survived scares in the opening two segments, Verstappen laboured to seventh in the top-10 shootout, a whopping 0.582 seconds down on pole-sitter Oscar Piastri.
That has prompted Verstappen to adopt a downbeat stance on the chances that he can retain his crown, as he suggested that the championship will be McLaren’s to lose.
“McLaren are not my rivals right now. I am just taking part in this World Championship,” Verstappen said.
When asked whether that means he doesn’t consider himself a title contender, he responded: “No, I don’t.”
Red Bull has no answer to woes
Red Bull had explained how turning the car “upside down” had triggered the miraculous turnaround that inspired Verstappen’s run to pole position and subsequent win in Suzuka.
However, Verstappen divulged that Red Bull had adopted a similar approach but to no avail on this occasion to ameliorate the inherent limitations that the RB21 harbours.
“We have tried everything we could on the car and nothing works, so that’s not the issue,” he lamented.
“If I had to do qualifying again, then I have no idea what else we could have changed.
“We tried everything that makes sense at this track.”
Verstappen believes the hot temperatures and more abrasive asphalt in Bahrain have exposed the lingering Red Bull weaknesses that the circumstances in Japan concealed.
“If you look at the gap to McLaren I’m not surprised,” he explained.
“I already told the team during the winter test here that the gap is half a second and that proves to be the case, so I was right in that respect.
“If you look at the entire season, I don’t think we ever really had a chance. If others make mistakes, like in Suzuka qualifying, then we can be ahead. In Suzuka passing was impossible, but that’s not always the case.”
Verstappen not optimistic about recovery
Verstappen is not optimistic about Red Bull’s prospects improving in race trim, citing that the tight margins between the teams behind McLaren will harm his bid to make progress.
“Lando normally just drives to the front, with the speed they have,” he assessed.
“Of course, there’s an Alpine [Pierre Gasly] that could drop back, but other than that it will be tough to move up because our pace is all similar.
“I will do my best, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough for a podium or sixth.”
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