A frustrated Max Verstappen has admitted he no longer considers himself a contender and concedes the 2025 F1 title to McLaren after a difficult qualifying session for the Bahrain Grand Prix left him down in seventh place.
The four-time world champion was left struggling with grip and brake issues throughout the session, eventually finishing over half a second adrift of pole-sitter Oscar Piastri in the dominant McLaren. It was a stark contrast to Verstappen’s emphatic pole-to-flag win in Japan just one week earlier.
Speaking to the Dutch media after qualifying, Verstappen painted a bleak picture of Red Bull’s chances this season, suggesting that McLaren are in a different league.
“McLaren are not my rivals right now. I am just taking part in this world championship,” Verstappen told the media. When asked directly if he is fighting for the title, Verstappen replied: “No, I don’t.”
Verstappen fears Red Bull has no answers
At Suzuka, Verstappen was able to pull out a magic lap in qualifying on a circuit that masked Red Bull’s weaknesses. But at the high-degradation, high-temperature Sakhir circuit, Verstappen said there was nowhere to hide.
“If you look at the gap to McLaren, I’m not surprised,” Verstappen explained. “I already told the team during the winter test here that the gap is half a second, and that proves to be the case, so I was right in that respect. If you look at the entire season, I don’t think we ever really had a chance.”
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Verstappen confirmed that Red Bull turned its car “upside down” overnight in a desperate attempt to find performance, but conceded there was little else the team could do to improve their fortunes.
“We have tried everything we could on the car and nothing works, so that’s not the issue,” Verstappen said. “If I had to do qualifying again, then I have no idea what else we could have changed. We tried everything that makes sense at this track.”
Race expectations low for Verstappen
Looking ahead to Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Verstappen acknowledged that gaining positions would be a challenge given the strength of McLaren and the fact the cars around him have similar pace.
“Lando Norris normally just drives to the front, with the speed they have,” Verstappen admitted. “Of course, there’s an Alpine [of Pierre Gasly] that could drop back, but other than that it will be tough to move up because our pace is all similar. I will do my best, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough for a podium or sixth.”
It is a remarkable shift in tone from a driver who has dominated Formula 1 in recent years. But with McLaren continuing to set the benchmark and Red Bull appearing to lack answers, Verstappen is already preparing himself for a season of damage limitation rather than championship glory.
