McLaren says Verstappen still in the fight after chaotic Baku qualifying

Andrea Stella insists Max Verstappen remains a existent menace to McLaren’s rubric hopes, adjacent from distance. “A steadfast yes. Can you constitute it successful capitals? Because it was quoted successful capitals,” McLaren’s squad main said erstwhile asked if Max can inactive triumph the drivers’ championship.

The Red Bull operator seized rod successful a chaotic Baku qualifying. Championship person Oscar Piastri crashed successful Q3 and Lando Norris brushed the partition connected his last run; they volition commencement ninth and seventh. Max has six poles successful 2025, much than anyone, and won astatine Monza 2 weeks ago. The points representation inactive looks steep: helium trails Piastri by 94 and Norris by 63 with 8 races left.

Why McLaren is concerned

Stella believes Red Bull’s caller upgrade has unlocked speed. The squad brought a caller level to Monza, and Max has mentioned the car “grounding overmuch much than it was doing before.” Stella added: “Pole presumption successful Monza, victory, rod presumption present — Red Bull are a precise superior contender to triumph races and a precise superior contender for the drivers’ championship.”

There is besides the arithmetic of a two-car fight. McLaren expects its drivers to instrumentality points from each different successful the run-in. “We bash not person to hide that archetypal of each he’s Max Verstappen — satellite champion for the past 4 years — successful a accelerated car,” Stella said. “Lando and Oscar are ever there, truthful they volition not needfully beryllium maximising the points available. We fto them contention due to the fact that they some merit to prosecute their aspirations.”

The spread and the odds

A triumph is worthy 25 points, which keeps Verstappen astir 4 victories down Piastri — results that would besides necessitate the Australian to miss out. However, form, reliability, and squad orders crossed the grid tin tilt a play quickly. For now, Verstappen starts up beforehand successful Baku, McLaren’s brace commencement successful traffic, and the doorway to a precocious complaint is unfastened a crack.