Since 2021 Max Verstappen has been the dominant individual force on the Formula 1 grid. The Red Bull driver secured his first Drivers’ Championship that year in a dramatic duel with Lewis Hamilton that not only went down to the final laps of the season, but remains a flash point among fans to this day. Verstappen went on to secure championships in 2022, 2023, and even last year when McLaren’s MCL38 was the superior package on the grid.
This year, however, Verstappen’s string of titles likely comes
to an end. He arrived at the Summer Shutdown with 187 points, putting him 88 points behind second-place Lando Norris, and 97 points behind leader Oscar Piastri.
And with the McLaren duo swapping wins in recent weeks — Norris and Piastri rattled off four consecutive one-two finishes for the Woking-based outfit leading up to the break — Verstappen’s already-slim title hopes grew slimmer.
But to hear the driver tell it, he is “not too worried” about his championship chances.
In an interview with Lawrence Barretto published on the official F1 website (a free subscription is required), Verstappen opened up about the state of play at Red Bull in 2025, and his future in the sport.
“You also just have to accept where you’re at,” said Verstappen of his and the team’s current position, which finds Red Bull fourth in the Constructors’ Championship standings and on their second Team Principal of the season. “Yeah, we are not the quickest at the moment, but we’re also not the slowest.
“We always want to be better, and actually that was the same when we were winning. Now we’re not winning that much.
“We just try to focus on understanding the car a bit better, where we can find our time, because of course next year there’s new regulations, but I think there’s still a lot to learn also this year.”
Of note is the fact that Red Bull parted ways with Christian Horner, the only Team Principal in their history, promoting Laurent Mekies into that role following the British Grand Prix. That move, coupled with a pair of openings at Mercedes next year, prompted weeks of speculation that Verstappen was considering a shocking move to the Silver Arrows.
Verstappen eventually put those rumors to rest before the break, and he told Barretto that he is focused on what Verstappen calls his Red Bull family.
“It’s been great being part of a team for so long,” he said. “It definitely is like a second family. We have achieved so many beautiful things, including of course winning championships together.”
Regarding those rumors, Verstappen reiterated that he is focused on the future with Red Bull.
“Well, the thing is that there’s always other people speaking a lot, while I’m not really talking, because first of all I don’t need to, I don’t need to say anything,” said Verstappen.
“I think that’s also better for everyone, instead of just waffling things around. It makes no sense anyway, it’s a bit of a waste of time, but for me I’m very focused on ’26 with the team, to look ahead and make sure that we nail the regulations, and that we are competitive from the start.”
The driver also believes that Red Bull can bounce back after this season.
“The team has gone from of course winning championships before I arrived, to when I arrived, a bit through a rebuilding phase, and then we really hit the peak again of winning championships,” he said to Barretto.
“Now I feel like [it is a] slight rebuilding [season]. We’re still of course a very strong team, but I do think that to make again a step up, there’s slight rebuilding or restructuring maybe, and understanding a little bit more what’s going on, and that of course takes a little bit of time, but hopefully not too much time.
“I think that’s also a bit the mentality of the team [to fight back from a dip], it’s always been like that, so I’m not too worried about that.”
F1 returns to action at the end of this month with the Dutch Grand Prix.
