Can Verstappen catch McLaren duo? He rates his chances

With the 2025 Formula 1 season hurtling toward its climax, Max Verstappen is clawing his way back into the Drivers’ Championship fray, rating his shot at dethroning McLaren contenders Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as a straight "50/50" gamble.

Just four races ago, the Red Bull ace trailed Piastri by a daunting 104 points, but a blistering resurgence –capped by successive wins in Monza and Baku, plus a strong P2 in Singapore – has slashed the deficit to 63 points behind Piastri and a more manageable 41 from Norris.

With 174 points still dangling over six nail-biting rounds, including three Sprint weekends, the Dutch maestro heads to Austin's Circuit of The Americas brimming with calculated optimism, while taking his task one race at a time.

“We’ll try, for sure,” he said, when asked about his prospects of overhauling his papaya rivals. “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.”

“It’s 50/50. You either win it, or you don’t”

When pressed on his championship odds, Verstappen offered a candid, no-nonsense assessment.

“It’s 50/50. You either win it, or you don’t. I don’t really think about it,” he said.

Despite a challenging mid-season stretch marked by a win-less run from Imola in May through Monza in September, aside from a Sprint win in Belgium, Verstappen’s confidence has been buoyed by upgrades to the RB21 and careful fine-tuning by the Red Bull team.

“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.

• Read also: Verstappen credits ‘different philosophy’ for Red Bull’s resurgence

“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.”

With momentum on his side and a more balanced car beneath him, Verstappen’s “50/50” outlook is far from defeatist – it’s a confident acknowledgment that the fight for the title is still very much alive.

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