Max Verstappen gives fresh title chance verdict as gap narrows again
Max Verstappen has closed the gap to the top of the Drivers' Championship to 36 points, with four rounds remaining.
Max Verstappen closed into the World Championship lead by another four points in Mexico City, but reiterated his message of the season needing to end in a “perfect” manner if he is to challenge for another Drivers’ title.
Verstappen now sits 36 points behind the World Championship leader, with Lando Norris having taken on the mantle from Oscar Piastri after a dominant victory in Mexico, with the Australian now one point behind his McLaren teammate.
Max Verstappen: Red Bull ‘not quick in every scenario’
Starting fifth on the grid in Mexico City, Verstappen managed to earn third place come the chequered flag, though a late Virtual Safety Car intervention put paid to a burgeoning battle between him and Charles Leclerc for second place.
Ultimately, though, even though he lost out to Norris on the day, his advantage over Piastri means that his gap to the overall World Championship lead has narrowed once again, with the Briton taking the lead of the standings.
The Red Bull driver is keeping himself grounded when it comes to his title hopes, however, despite having now closed in by 68 points since the Dutch Grand Prix.
Instead, he has called upon Red Bull to work out why the RB21 was not quite as competitive as in recent races.
“I mean, I lost 10 [points] to Lando, if you look at it like that,” Verstappen told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets after the race when asked about his title challenge.
“So I said before the weekend, everything needs to go perfect to win, and this weekend didn’t go perfect, so that’s your answer.
“I think it’s going to be tough, but let’s see what we what we can do on other tracks.
“I hope, of course, we won’t experience a weekend like this again, but it still shows that we’re not quick in every scenario, and that’s what we need to understand, I think, a bit better.”
Mexico City GP analysis from PlanetF1.com
👉 Mexican GP conclusions: Big Norris chance, Verstappen illusion, new Hamilton document incoming
👉 Winners and losers from the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix
What does Max Verstappen need to win a fifth World Championship?
Well, from here, the maths are relatively simple: Verstappen needs to outscore both McLaren drivers by an average of nine points per race for the rest of the season to draw level at the top.
Two Sprints should help give him more opportunities to perform, but as always, the inverse can occur and both Norris and Piastri can still pull further clear.
Should two or three drivers finish level on points at the end of the season, it will go to countback based on the number of race victories through the season, and if that’s equal, second places, third places and so on.
Verstappen has ground to make up on that front, however, having earned five race victories to date compared to six for Norris and seven for Piastri.
The odds are still heavily in favour of the McLaren duo at this stage, but Verstappen is doing what he can to cling on heading into the final few rounds.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock
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