Max Verstappen has reiterated the stance that he is not in contention to win the championship in Formula 1 in 2025 amid his conviction that McLaren is “unbeatable”.
Verstappen ventured into last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix insistent that he isn’t embroiled in a straight title battle against McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
That admission came despite him being 25 points – equivalent to a single race victory – behind Piastri at that stage as the sole non-McLaren driver to have won a race.
However, Red Bull’s wish that the FIA’s clampdown on flexible front wings would destabilise McLaren didn’t materialise in Barcelona as Piastri headed a dominant 1-2.
And while Verstappen was poised to minimise the damage in third place, the Dutchman was penalised over a late clash with George Russell that dropped him to 10th.
But when it was put to him that the collision delivered a damaging blow to his quest to retain the crown, Verstappen denied that he ever regarded being in the running.
“Well, I never said I was in the championship fight first of all,” Verstappen told media including Motorsport Week post-race.
“I think every race so far has been tough. When they get their things right they’re unbeatable and that’s quite clear this season.”
Red Bull not giving up on title bid in 2025
Red Bull boss Christian Horner, though, is adamant the team will continue to believe that it can chase down McLaren’s lead, despite Verstappen being 49 points adrift.
“Look, I think there’s a significant gap now, but there’s an awful lot of points still available,” he countered.
“We’re not even at [the] halfway point in the year. So McLaren are in a very strong position, but we never give up.”
However, Horner recognised that Red Bull wasn’t competitive enough in Barcelona to replicate the McLaren-beating pace the RB21 retained at both Suzuka and Imola.
“Right up until that Safety Car we were a lot closer to the McLarens through strategy than we should have been,” he conceded.
“They should have been 20 seconds up the road and maybe more. Through the strategy we elected to take, it kept us in the hunt.”
Verstappen teetering on F1 race ban
Meanwhile, Horner acknowledged that it is imperative Verstappen avoids more incidents over the next two events as another penalty point would land him a race ban.
“You can never guarantee anything,” he said. “He’s just got to keep his nose clean in the next couple of races. Then the first points come off at the end of June.”
READ MORE – How Oscar Piastri contributed to Max Verstappen’s F1 Spanish GP unravelling
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