Max Verstappen remains a title threat after two straight race wins, insists McLaren boss
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Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium with a trophy after winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BAKU – Max Verstappen is still a threat for the Formula One drivers’ title after successive wins from pole position in Italy and Azerbaijan, according to McLaren team boss Andrea Stella.
The Red Bull driver had initially looked out of the running for a fifth title in a row, after falling 104 points behind McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri following his home Dutch race at Zandvoort at the end of August.
He remains very much a long shot but has cut the gap to 69 points in the space of two races with seven rounds remaining – 25 of them gained on Sept 21 after Piastri crashed out on the opening lap in Azerbaijan.
Including three Saturday sprint races, there are 199 points still to be won.
“We’re talking about Max Verstappen, we’re talking about Red Bull,” Stella told reporters after Verstappen dominated the race in Baku
“We have already seen in Monza that they improved. They seem to have made an improvement with their car because the way they won Monza was something more... than simply a car that adapts well at low drag.
“They were fast in the corners, medium-speed and low-speed corners, fast in the straights. And we know that Max when he has a competitive car can deliver strong weekends.
“Definitely Max is in contention for the drivers’ championship. We knew it and we got confirmation today.”
Verstappen has now won four of the 17 grands prix – only one fewer than McLaren’s title contender Lando Norris has achieved.
The 27-year-old has started from more pole positions (six) than anyone this season – Piastri has five – and has now led more race laps than Norris.
Verstappen was not about to make any declarations of intent, however.
“I don’t rely on hope. But it’s seven rounds left – 69 points is a lot. So I personally don’t think about it,” he said of his chances.
“I just go race by race, what I have been doing basically the whole season – just trying to do the best we can, try to score the most points that we can. And then after (the final race in) Abu Dhabi, we’ll know.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton said he would apologise to Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc after he failed to hand back a place in the Azerbaijan race.
The seven-time Formula One world champion finished eighth and Leclerc ninth.
After Leclerc had let Hamilton go past on fresher tyres to try and catch cars ahead, Ferrari asked them to swop back on the final lap but the positions ultimately remained the same.
Hamilton, who started 12th, said he got the message late on when he was still focused on trying to catch Norris.
“Basically I did lift on the straight and did actually brake, but he (Leclerc) missed it by like four tenths,” the Briton explained. “That was just a misjudgment by myself. I’ll apologise to Charles.”
Team boss Fred Vasseur said Hamilton appeared to have misjudged the position of the start/finish line and Leclerc indicated he was not too fussed.
“Honestly, for a P8 or a P9 it’s not going to be a big talking point. I don’t really mind,” said the Monegasque.
“These are things that we agree between us and the general rules of how we want to work whenever there’s a swop, it didn’t happen and that’s OK. It’s not like I would have been a lot happier being P8.”
REUTERS
