Verstappen doesn't want to think about title just yet: 'Long way to go'

At the start of the season, it looked to be another dominant year for Red Bull Racing. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The Austrian racing team have been caught it seems by McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, and since the Monaco Grand Prix, they have only won two out of seven times. Max Verstappen sees the competition getting faster and feels like Lando Norris could be a threat for his fourth title in F1.

Last year, Red Bull managed to win 21 out of 22 races. Of these, Verstappen won no fewer than 19, and the dominance seemed to continue in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in 2024, until the Dutchman crashed out in Australia. In an interview with F1TV, Verstappen discussed his views on the competition at the moment.

The Dutchman was asked about whether he thinks McLaren will pose a threat to the drivers' championship. ''Absolutely,'' he said. ''I mean, it's still a very long way to go, of course. A lot of things can happen. But I know, of course, the gap is still quite big. But I also know that from our side, we have to step it up, to try and win a few races here and there.''

In 2021, Verstappen also had to fight hard for the championship. Then it was with Lewis Hamilton. In 2022 and 2023, he won the titles by a lot wider margins. Verstappen briefly clarified that winning the championship in 2024 would not necessarily feel different. ''Maybe they looked easy from the outside, but they are never easy. If we win that championship, it would be fantastic. But it's a very long road. So I don't like to think about that yet,'' Verstappen concluded.