Max Verstappen believes Red Bull still has “too many issues” to resolve before he can put up a realistic bid for the 2026 Formula 1 title.
Verstappen drove a commanding race, strapped into an upgraded RB22, at the Austrian Grand Prix, last weekend.
Despite suffering a freak Q3 shunt, the Dutchman chased the race-winning Mercedes of George Russell, from fifth on the grid, all the way up to second, at the chequered flag.
The Red Bull driver felt competitive throughout the 71-lap race, eventually finish behind Russell by just 1.6 seconds.
But coming into the British GP weekend, Verstappen sits a staggering 98 points behind championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
That said, the 28-year-old is no stranger to hustling a huge deficit in a title fight. Last season, he overturned a massive 100-point deficit to Lando Norris, after the Dutch GP, to mount a sensational comeback – missing out on the title at Abu Dhabi by just two points.
Naturally, many believe that if the Milton-Keynes-based team can build on its Austrian package, Verstappen could be in firm contention for the 2026 drivers’ crown.
Yet, the Dutchman himself played these suggestions down, conceding that the team has “too many issues” to resolve before he can start thinking about a fifth F1 title.
“Well, I think there are more races left than last year, but it’s a very big gap,” he said after the race at the Red Bull Ring.
“I think, for us, we had very good pace, but I think to fight for a title, we need to be more all-round.
“I think we still have too many issues, if that’s from the start to just procedural issues in the background that even I think you guys don’t know about, but I know about.
“I think we just need to be a little bit more all-round still. It’s not a big criticism or whatever, I think everyone is aware, we just always want to be better.”
Max Verstappen believes F1 title battle can become “a different story” very soon
The Dutchman is having to play catch up with the championship leader for the second time in two seasons.
But this time around, Verstappen warned that his lack of title ambitions eight rounds into 2026 can be “a different story” if Red Bull can get their act together quickly.
“We chase to be the best, so we just need to focus on all of those things, and then if you’re a bit more, let’s say, rock solid, and we’ve shown that in the past, then, of course, it’s a different story,” he added.
“Hopefully it doesn’t take too long, but we have still a little bit of work to do.”
Heading into the race weekend at the storied Silverstone Circuit, Verstappen sits seventh in the drivers’ standings.
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