Max Verstappen Gives Honest Verdict on F1 Title Prospects After Austrian GP DNF

Max Verstappen was brutally honest over his championship prospects after being taken out at Austrian GP.

Max Verstappen Gives Honest Verdict on F1 Title Prospects After Austrian GP DNF

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Max Verstappen‘s Austrian GP weekend was a complete disaster. The reigning world champion struggled in Qualifying on Saturday with a P7 finish. In the race, the Red Bull star fell victim to Mercedes prodigy Kimi Antonelli who locked up and slammed his RB21. Now, the 27-year-old has given a realistic verdict on his 2025 title prospects.

The two McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are battling Max Verstappen for the world championship this season. So far, the Dutchman had managed to stay close to his two main rivals despite Red Bull’s significant performance deficit. Verstappen has bagged two victories this season, compared to five for Piastri and three for Norris. After the DNF in Austria, the Red Bull star trails championship-leader Oscar Piastri by 61 points.

The four-time world champion was asked if he felt like his title bid was fading away in light of recent results. Max Verstappen admitted that this really seemed to be the case. Though, the Red Bull star claimed that he and the team are not really in a position to fight for the championship lead, hinting at the performance struggles at Milton Keynes.

Yeah but if you look at us as a whole anyway we’re not really fighting for the lead of the championship.

Max Verstappen said post-race

Max Verstappen doesn’t want to sound ‘depressed’ after Austria DNF

It is clear that the retirement will be a major blow to Max Verstappen’s title fights. A 61-point deficit is a lot to recover from, even if there are still 13 races remaining in the season. No matter how hard the Dutchman tries to push the car, McLaren continues to enjoy a major pace advantage. Though, Verstappen asserted that he doesn’t want to bring the morale down at Milton Keynes.

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

The 27-year-old remained realistic about his prospects for the latter half of the season. Max Verstappen insisted that he was not trying to act too depressed after the DNF. The Dutchman acknowledged the hard work done by everyone at his team, making sure that he can get the best result possible. Verstappen hoped to extract more speed out of his car in the coming races in a bid to bounce back from this setback.

I don’t want to sound too depressed. I know that everyone in the team always gives 100% percent and that we keep pushing, keep tinkering and keep trying to get more speed out of the car

Max Verstappen added

Certainly, Max Verstappen needs to get back to winning ways. The Dutch driver will soon be running out of time if he does not bring the gap to Piastri to a manageable level. While Red Bull is working round-the-clock to improve the car, it is still not enough to defeat the two McLarens. As such, fans will have to wait till the next race at Silverstone to understand whether Verstappen still has a chance left this year.

Read More: Lando Norris Gives ‘Tricky and Tiring’ Verdict on Holding off Oscar Piastri to Win Austrian GP