After two dropouts in the first three races, speculation about Max Verstappen's title chances is already rife. Ferrari clearly entered the season with the best papers, but with twenty races to go there are no certainties. One thing is clear: Verstappen started his season as reigning world champion with a deficit, but is it already so big that Charles Leclerc can no longer be caught?

Verstappen sees title chances bleak

How does the world champion view it? After his second loss, as in Bahrain from a good second place, Verstappen expressed his frustrations about the reliability problems his team is facing. He was dejected when he said that at this moment there is no point in believing in the world title, which, given the strong results of Leclerc and Ferrari, seems far away indeed.

With just three races behind them there is still every chance for Verstappen and Red Bull Racing to catch up, but the reliability problems must be a thing of the past from now on.

Marko optimistic about title chances

Helmut Marko is convinced that Red Bull will be able to plug the leak. He is also very optimistic about the updates that the team has in the pipeline, but he emphasizes that reliability is even more important. As soon as the problems are solved the Austrian expects Red Bull to be 'on par with Ferrari' in terms of package .

Ferrari expects Red Bull to catch up

Verstappen is also not afraid to level with the competition for the time being. Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, who prior to the Australian Grand Prix repeatedly emphasized that Red Bull Racing is the favorite, assumes that his rivals will catch up. In doing so, he emphasizes that the differences between the teams are extremely small and that it is still very early in the season.

Championship leader Leclerc agrees with the words of his team boss. Moreover, he expects that Red Bull Racing has some strong developments in the pipeline and that Ferrari will find it difficult to keep up with the competition in that area. One example is weight: the RB18 is still several kilograms heavier than the F1-75. Weight loss is an important step for Red Bull to close the gap to Ferrari in the standings.

Hakkinen became champion despite lousy season start

Mika Hakkinen is slightly less optimistic, but is not yet pronouncing on Verstappen's title chances. The two-time world champion understands the Red Bull driver's frustration and emphasizes that at this level one cannot afford to have constant technical failures.

Yet the Finn is living proof that statistics do not necessarily have to be to Verstappen's disadvantage. In 1999, Hakkinen also started his season with two dropouts and a victory in the first three races, only to beat Michael Schumacher in the battle for the world title.

Experts agree: no man overboard for Red Bull

Former Formula 1 driver Christian Klien and DTM driver Philipp Eng think there is no man overboard yet. Klien points to the speed of the RB18, which he says is promising. Eng refers to Sebastian Vettel's first world title, who managed to make up a 31-point deficit six races before the end of the season.

Dutch experts concur. Christijan Albers, for example, states that developing the car is a strong side of Red Bull Racing. He also points out that the difference with Ferrari is not that big and that Verstappen therefore still has every chance of extending his world title.

Tom Coronel shares that opinion, but thinks that the upcoming race in Imola could be crucial for Verstappen. The chances of prolonging his title are far from gone, but Red Bull Racing must put an end to the reliability problems that plagued it in Imola.