Verstappen: "No reason to believe" in F1 title right now

Max Verstappen believes there is "no reason to believe" in the Formula 1 title at the moment after suffering two retirements in the first three races of the season.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Verstappen was forced out of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix after a fuel system issue emerged on his Red Bull car, denying him a likely second-place finish.

A similar story played out in the Bahrain season-opener when a separate fuel pump problem meant Verstappen had to retire in the closing stages, costing him another 18 points.

The setbacks mean Verstappen now lies 46 points off runaway championship leader Charles Leclerc after the opening three races of the season, denting his hopes of defending his maiden F1 crown from 2021.

Verstappen acknowledged it was still a long season with 20 races remaining and joked he thought “we need 45 races”, but said Red Bull had to find more pace to get ahead of Ferrari.

“Being already so far down in the championship, I think it's 46 points, from now on we need to be ahead,” Verstappen said.

“We need to quicker, which we are not at the moment. And we need to be reliable, which we are also not. So there's a lot of things to work on.”

Asked what chance he had of the title this year, Verstappen replied: “I don't even think about it. At the moment, there is no reason to believe in it.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, retires from the race and a marshal assists with a fire

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, retires from the race and a marshal assists with a fire

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Verstappen lies sixth in the drivers’ championship after three races with 25 points, all of which were scored with his victory in the Saudi Arabian GP after a race-long battle with Leclerc.

Leclerc’s overall lead stands at 34 points over MercedesGeorge Russell in second place.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was reluctant to dwell on the damage the retirements had done to Verstappen’s title hopes.

“We’re only just over 10% of the way into the championship,” he said. “So I think there’s still a huge amount to go. The encouraging thing is we’ve got the basis of a quick car.”

Read Also:

Horner also expressed his confidence Verstappen would bounce back from the disappointment of the Australia DNF.

“He’s obviously frustrated when he initially got out of the car, but he knows we’re all in it together as a team,” Horner said.

“We’ll bounce back. I’m sure he’ll be coming back strong at Imola.”

shares
comments

Related video

Top five American F1 teams ranked: Haas, Penske and more

The Verstappen path Leclerc seems to be following in F1 2022

Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge

Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge

Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius

Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Jonathan Noble

Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius

 The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP

The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Alex Kalinauckas

The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP

The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake

The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake

Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Alex Kalinauckas

Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak

The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak

How a McLaren winner overshadowed by scandal was dealt self-inflicted setbacks

How a McLaren winner overshadowed by scandal was dealt self-inflicted setbacks

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

How a McLaren winner overshadowed by scandal was dealt self-inflicted setbacks How a McLaren winner overshadowed by scandal was dealt self-inflicted setbacks

The numbers that reveal F1's aerodynamic efficiency improvements

The numbers that reveal F1's aerodynamic efficiency improvements

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

The numbers that reveal F1's aerodynamic efficiency improvements The numbers that reveal F1's aerodynamic efficiency improvements

Subscribe