After tough summer months in the 2025 Formula 1 season, Red Bull has now gone back into attack mode – and that has lifted Max Verstappen’s mood considerably, as his father Jos Verstappen explained in an interview with “De Telegraaf”.
Jos Verstappen said: “The mood in the team is completely different. I have a good relationship with team boss Laurent Mekies, and it really reassures me to see how much fun Max is having again. He is in good hands.”
In addition, Max Verstappen is “very open and relaxed” about his chances as an outsider in the World Cup title fight. “That’s probably the best approach,” says Jos Verstappen.
Verstappen still hopes for a world title
“Max had a difficult weekend in Mexico, but he still managed to finish third – and almost took second place. That gives hope. But given the points difference, it is of course true that the result is no longer in his own hands.”
However, Jos Verstappen emphasized that it was “a huge bonus” for Max Verstappen to still have “a chance of winning the title” after Red Bull’s season so far. “Especially considering where he was at the summer break.”
The difference is actually striking: After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen went into the Formula 1 summer break 97 points behind world championship leader Oscar Piastri. Before the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil, he is only 36 points behind the new championship leader Lando Norris.
Verstappen doesn’t want to put any pressure on himself
That’s why Max Verstappen isn’t putting pressure on himself, but said in Brazil: “Even if I don’t win the title, I know that I’ve had a really good season. And I can say with a clear conscience: it would be very difficult for others in the field to repeat a season like that.”
He sounds like his father Jos Verstappen when he continues: “The fact that we are still talking about the title fight is, in my opinion, remarkable. And yes, that certainly has to do with the turnaround in the team – the team never gave up, and that is their great strength.”