Formula 1 News: Stella insists Verstappen is still in the title fight

(GMM) Andrea Stella (pictured) says Max Verstappen cannot yet be ruled out of the 2025 world championship ‘drivers’ fight, even as McLaren stands on the brink of sealing the constructors’ crown.

The Woking-based outfit could mathematically wrap up the teams’ title as early as Sunday in Baku, but team boss Stella told De Telegraaf that Verstappen’s recent resurgence – pole and victory at Monza and another pole on Saturday – means the drivers’ race is not over.

“Do I still consider Verstappen a contender? Absolutely,” he said. “Write that in capital letters.

“We’ve already concluded internally that Red Bull’s victory in Monza two weeks ago shouldn’t be considered an exception. They arrived there with a new floor, and perhaps they’re setting up their car slightly differently.”

Still, McLaren’s weekend has been messy. Oscar Piastri crashed into the wall in Saturday’s red-flag-strewn qualifying session. “I think it would be a bit too ambitious to aim for the win,” admitted the championship leader.

Teammate Lando Norris, also out of position after misjudging the session, said: “It hurts a bit, simply because this isn’t normal for us,” he said.

“If there had been a red or yellow flag, everyone else would have been left looking like losers. Now I kind of look like the loser, and they look like heroes, but that’s the price you sometimes have to pay.”

Norris conceded victory was unlikely. “Red Bull is simply too fast. They’re very fast, about as fast as us.”

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko, however, doubts Stella’s claim that Verstappen can rejoin the title fight. “Theoretically, it’s still possible,” he said. “But in practice, so many things have to come together that it’s not realistic for us.”

Marko is at least encouraged by the post-Horner mood under Laurent Mekies. “The driver is more involved with him, and the team spirit is simply better,” he told Kleine Zeitung.

“Max is an experienced driver, and his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, is also among the best. Now both are contributing their practical knowledge much more, which gives us a broader base.”

Still, he cautioned about race strategy after Baku qualifying. “We had to use more tyres than we’d planned. I still think we have a good chance here.”

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers also believes the McLarens remain stronger over race distance. “The McLarens are still stronger, faster, and very dominant,” he told Viaplay.

“But Red Bull is always on top of things. You see that with those red tires when the temperature drops and it starts raining. They’re always there. You don’t see that with the other teams, and I find that quite impressive.

“They’ve bounced back strongly, but they still have a lot of room for improvement in this area.”

McLaren’s Stella, though, concluded: “We mustn’t forget that they have Max Verstappen at their disposal, and it’s not for nothing that he won the championship four times in a row.

“And as I’ve said before, there will certainly be races where McLaren doesn’t have a competitive advantage.”