Verstappen rates title chances with six rounds to go as he looks to build on ‘very nice’ run of races

Max Verstappen has given himself a “50/50” chance of overhauling Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the race for the 2025 Drivers’ Championship, with the Dutchman and his Red Bull team enjoying a resurgence at recent events.

Verstappen found himself 104 points adrift of Piastri just four rounds ago, but successive victories at Monza and Baku and a P2 finish in Singapore – following plenty of work on improving the RB21 – have brought him back into the title conversation.

He is now a much reduced 63 points behind Piastri, and only 41 away from Norris, with 174 still up for grabs over the final six rounds, which include three Sprint weekends.

Asked for his victory chances ahead of the United States Grand Prix at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas, which features one of those Sprints, Verstappen said: “We’ll try, for sure. The last three weekends have been very nice – some a bit better than others.

“I still think that in Singapore we didn’t maximise the potential of the car, but you analyse everything and try to do better. That’s what we’ll try to do again here.

"It’s a great track to drive, a Sprint weekend is always a bit hectic… I’m just curious to see what we can do.”

Pushed on how he rates his championship chances, Verstappen offered a simple equation, adding: “It’s 50/50. You either win it, or you don’t. I don’t really think about it.”

Verstappen shared a few more words when asked how different Red Bull’s 2025 challenger feels after recent updates and set-up tweaks, and whether his belief has returned after a win-less run between Imola in May and Monza in September (a Sprint win in Belgium aside).

“The car is just a bit more balanced – it doesn’t oversteer dramatically, it doesn’t understeer dramatically,” he explained. “Every single weekend you’re always fine-tuning things, because it’s never perfect. The car lately has been a bit more together.

“At the same time, it’s not about believing in [the title] or not, we just need to be realistic. For most of the season that was definitely the case, that we were not fighting for the championship, and lately we’ve had some good results.

“I know when the car is capable of being quick and fighting for the top places, I can be there. It’s as simple as that, I would say.”