Was the Formula 1 race in Barcelona the preliminary decision in the title fight 2025 last weekend? At least since Sunday, more and more factors are talking about Max Verstappen this year will not be Formula 1 world champions for the fifth time in a row.
“First of all, I never said that I am in a championship fight,” Verstappen clarifies even after the race and emphasizes: “I think it was hard in every race so far. [bei McLaren] Do your things right, you are unbeatable. “
Verstappen was able to conquer the McLaren pilots twice this year. He won the races in Suzuka and Imola, but the other seven season wins all went to Lando Norris or Oscar Piatri. In the World Cup, the Dutch is already facing a mammoth task after nine seasonal races.
According to Barcelona, his deficit to PISETRI World Cup leader is 49 points, and so far a large handicap has never caught up in Verstappen in his Formula 1 career. The biggest deficit to date that the Dutch could still turn around dates from 2022.
At that time he was 46 points behind Charles Leclerc after the third race in Melbourne – but in the end it was still world champion. So far, Verstappen has never caught up.
Red Bull is missing “at least three tenths” on McLaren
In addition, Verstappen in 2022 only had such a big gap in the World Cup because he did not see the target flag in two of the first three season races. Basically, the Red Bull was quick enough back then to keep up in the title fight – unlike three years later.
“The main problem is that we do not have the speed we need to help with McLaren,” admits Helmut Marko in ORF and emphasizes that after the recent updates for the RB21 you actually hoped “that we are closer to it.”
But this hope was not confirmed in Barcelona. “We cannot normally beat the McLaren, so we went to the three -stop strategy. But we actually assumed that we will be closer here and that we can demand them,” said Marko.
But that was “unfortunately not the case”, which is why the past weekend was “sobering” for the bulls. “The countermeasure was the three -stop[strategie]that would have worked for the podium, “said Marko.
But because of the late Safety car and his punishment, Verstappen even became tenth – and the gap in the World Cup even greater. “But in general you have to say that we are still missing at least three tenths [auf McLaren]”, emphasizes Marko.
Marko admits: “McLaren is superior”
Verstappen himself also emphasizes to Sky that you are currently simply “too slow” for the title fight. “The deficit is now slowly becoming frightening,” explains Marko in the same place with regard to the three tenths mentioned, which are missing in McLaren.
You have to “find something soon, because this time cannot catch up with a verb,” warns Marko, who makes it clear to ServusTV: “McLaren is superior.” This becomes even clearer when looking at the constructor World Cup.
McLaren is at the top with 362 points and has already collected more than twice as many points as Red Bull (144 points). “Our car now has a wider work window. And if everything fits, we are just as fast as McLaren,” emphasizes Marko.
But there are only “every third or fourth races”, while McLaren is always there, “said Marko, whose greatest concern is that the gap to McLaren has not become smaller since the beginning of the season – despite some upgrades.
“We were [in Barcelona] Three tenths of the back. And we were at the beginning of the year, “emphasizes Marko. That means that McLaren” developed “during this period as well as Red Bull, which is why one did not get closer.
Red Bull has recently hoped for cool races
According to Marko, Red Bull also lost a great strength of earlier days. “In the past, hot temperatures were the best for us. Now it is too much on the tires,” he reveals. Instead, McLaren is now class leader in terms of tire management.
With regard to the next race in Canada, Marko explains that he hoped for “cooler temperatures, which can actually be the case in Canada.” The route itself should not necessarily accommodate Red Bull on paper.
“Unfortunately, Canada has hardly any fast corners, rather harassment,” said Marko, “but maybe we succeed in voting that we fall into our work window.” He explains: “We just need a car that, like the McLaren, firstly has the speed.”
“And then more balance, so it is easier to drive and the tires are more easy. And we work on it. We have made progress, but not to the extent that is necessary to the McLaren […] Defeat, “admits Marko.
Marko promises: “We don’t give up yet”
Incidentally, despite the big deficit in the World Cup, the Austrian does not want to write down the driver’s title. He is reminiscent of the 2012 season when Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel in the World Cup fight against Ferrari to the middle of the season was 44 points. There was “also caught up on Alonso. So we don’t give up yet,” says Marko.
“But it will be difficult,” he knows, because Red Bull has never made 49 points in Formula 1. There is also another statistics that have clearly spoken against another Verstappen title this year since last Sunday.
In the past eight years the pilot, which won the Spain Grand Prix, has also been world champion seven times. The only exception in this period since 2017: Lewis Hamilton won in Barcelona in 2021, but world champion was released.
If the Dutch does not provide a “outlier” in this statistics again this year, some observers still do not rule out that he could leave Red Bull at the end of the year. However, Helmut Marko does not assume.
When asked by Sky, whether the recent Red Bull progress could be too small to keep Verstappen, Marko clarifies: “It is not only enough for Max [nicht]”It is not enough for our requirements either.” Because the bulls are more threatened with the first title season since 2020.