After Winning F1 At The Azerbaijan GP, Verstappen Holds Back To Discuss World Champion Opportunities

JAKARTA - Max Verstappen won Formula 1 (F1) at the Azerbaijan 2025 Grand Prix (GP) last weekend. Despite his positive achievements, he is still reluctant to discuss the opportunity for the 2025 Formula 1 world champion.

The Red Bull Racing driver feels he is still far behind the McLaren duo. Although in reality, Verstappen felt the performance of Red Bull's car improved after the summer break after he grabbed three consecutive podiums, namely once runner-up in the Netherlands and finishing first in Italy and Azerbaijan.

"I don't rely on hope. However, there are still seven more series, 69 points is a lot. So, I personally don't think about it."

"I've only been racing after racing, (which) I've done all season. After Abu Dhabi (the last round of the season), we'll know," Max Verstappen told a press conference after the race quoted from The Athletic, Monday, September 22, 2025.

The entry of Laurent Mekies as the Principal of Red Bull Racing to replace Christian Horner since July 2025 is considered to play a major role in improving car quality.

Mekies' background as a racing engineer is believed to provide a different approach in car development.

The results on the track improved. Verstappen slowly cut the distance from Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, the McLaren duo who were ranked first and second in the standings.

Collecting 255 points from 17 races, Verstappen only lost 44 points to Norris and 69 points to Piastri.

With the remaining seven series, including three Sprint races, Verstappen's hopes of winning the fifth world title are still open.

However, he also had to wipe out the victory in the rest of the series while hoping that Piastri would fail the podium on a number of tracks. It's not easy, though it's not impossible.

The next race will be held in Singapore on October 3-5, 2025. Verstappen has only won once in Southeast Asia, to be precise F1 GP Malaysia 2017. While in Singapore, he has never finished ahead.