Helmut Marko Shuts down Max Verstappen’s Give up Verdict on 2025 F1 Title

Helmut Marko reassured that Max Verstappen didn't need to give up on the 2025 championship battle just yet with half of the season remaining.

Helmut Marko Shuts down Max Verstappen’s Give up Verdict on 2025 F1 Title

Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko (via Red Bull)

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The 2025 season has been extremely difficult for Max Verstappen, especially concerning race pace and performance. Verstappen, despite winning two coveted races, is nowhere near the championship lead. Following this dismal pace, many people in the team, including the Dutchman, have already given up on fighting for the drivers’ title. Still, Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko refuses to back down in the face of adversity as he issues a confident statement regarding the championship chances for the 27-year-old.

Max Verstappen is currently adrift of the championship lead to Oscar Piastri by 69 points, as he has crushing hopes of fighting for the title in the latter half of the season. Still, Red Bull is bringing in multiple upgrades, with the most recent one upcoming at Spa-Francorchamps. Following this upgrade, Helmut Marko asserted that Milton Keynes is far from giving up on the championship ambitions in the 2025 season.

Verstappen had already explained that his results didn’t matter anymore as he lost massive running against his rivals. However, Helmut Marko thinks differently as he recalled the woeful outings the Dutchman suffered from without being at fault. Marko recalled that the 10s penalty in Silverstone with a DNF at the Austrian GP did not make the 27-year-old’s life easy. Regardless, the 82-year-old reassured that the Austrian outfit was far from writing off the title towards the end of this year.

5th place ultimately for Max in Silverstone, a week earlier the early retirement in Austria due to Antonelli’s ramming. That doesn’t make Verstappen’s title defense any easier, but we’re far from writing off the title.

Helmut Marko wrote for Speedweek

Max Verstappen ‘looking for opportunities’ for 2026

Max Verstappen is yet to officially comment on the matter of switching teams and joining Mercedes in the coming season. The Dutchman kept silent when questioned regarding the status quo. However, Verstappen did not formally deny the rumors of the possibility of being in talks with the executives at Brackley. Moreover, the German carmaker has given the green light to acquire the 27-year-old even if it comes at massive cost of a whopping $102 million as per reports.

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen
Christian Horner and Max Verstappen (via Total Motorsport)

Three-time Le Mans winner, Allan McNish, shared his opinion on the matter and confirmed that Max Verstappen is definitely looking for opportunities outside Red Bull. McNish accepted that from Red Bull’s point of view, they would do everything to retain Verstappen in their squad, even if it meant axing Christian Horner. The Le Mans legend further added that Milton Keynes remained unable to provide the 27-year-old with a championship-winning opportunity, as he would now definitely consider his options in switching teams.

From a Max point of view, clearly Red Bull would like to keep hold of him, I don’t know what clauses he has. But clearly he’s looking for opportunities around as well. At the moment, it’s [Red Bull] not functioning in the way that he’s had in the past to win another world championship. 

Allan McNish told RacingNews365

Mercedes’ current form is seemingly better than Red Bull as both Silver Arrows are scoring great points over the race weekend. Some reports are suggesting that Verstappen’s move to Brackley has already been done as he hopes to put the 2025 season behind him. However, nothing is certain yet as the grid awaits official confirmation on the matter. For the time being, the Dutchman is a Red Bull driver and wouldn’t back down from showcasing his loyalty to the outfit.

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