After the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it seems as though Max Verstappen and Red Bull have found their form again. But has this come too late for the Dutch driver to compete for the Championship? The points leader, Oscar Piastri is certainly not dismissing Verstappen just yet.
In Baku, Oscar Piastri put his McLaren into the wall on Sunday while Verstappen went on to claim victory. This has allowed Max to close the gap to just 69 points between him and Piastri.
Oscar Piastri not ruling out Max Verstappen for Championship fight
After the race, the Aussie was asked if Max could still pose a threat to the Championship. To this he replied:
“I’m not going to rule him out, but honestly I’m not too concerned with that… I know if I get back to where I know I can be, then I’ll be more than OK.”
🚨 | Despite two consecutive victories, Max Verstappen is not getting ahead of himself heading to Singapore which provides a completely different challenge for teams:
“The last two weekends have definitely been really positive for us. Both were low-downforce tracks, so we’ll…
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 21, 2025
The reigning World Champion has just won the last 2 races in Monza and Baku. He is someone we can never count out to win the race. So no, Piastri is not ruling out Verstappen just yet.
One of the biggest performance gains for Red Bull came after they fired Christian Horner. The new team principal, Laurent Mekies, has a technical eye and questions his own engineers on setup choices. This has had a positive impact on the team as they are finally going back to their winning ways. But has this come too late?
What does Verstappen need to do to win the Championship?
Given that there is a 69-point deficit with seven race weekends to go (including three sprint races). Verstappen would ideally have to win all races with Norris coming 2nd and Piastri coming 3rd. This would earn him the title. Things might change if Norris and Piastri have more weekends like the one they had in Baku. This would give the Dutch driver a better chance.
But winning every race will not be easy for Max. It’s not like Red Bull has a dominant car like the one they had in 2023. This year, not just McLaren, but Mercedes and Ferrari can also pose a threat to win races.
After the Azerbaijan GP, Max Verstappen is only 69 points behind Oscar Piastri in the Championship.
With 7 more rounds to go, including 3 sprint weekends, Max would have to outscore Piastri by 10 points, and Norris by just over 6 points per weekend to win the title.
Can…
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 21, 2025
When asked if Max could still win the Championship, Red Bull team principal, Laurent Mekies, said: “We take it race by race!”
It is clear that Piastri and McLaren are still considering Max as a threat for the title this year. It will be interesting to see if Max is able to tak teh fight till Abu Dhabi again this year.
