Verstappen handed unexpected lifeline in title race: 'It's possible!'

Speaking on the Pit Talk podcast, the Dutchman said he believes his compatriot can still fight for the title, even though the win he needed didn’t come in Singapore.

"Can you imagine if Max wins it in the final lap? It's possible," he said. "He took 65 points out of the boys (Norris and Piastri e.d) after the summer break. So it's possible with bad weekends from McLaren and very strong weekends from Max. Red Bull is still a one-car team, but..."

Doornbos was then reminded that, in addition to six Grands Prix, there are still three Sprint events left to run — in Austin, Interlagos and Lusail.

The former driver believes this format could play into Red Bull’s hands, as the limited time to fine-tune the car might expose an area where McLaren has slipped compared to previous months.

With six races and three Sprints still to go, and a 63-point deficit after Singapore, the four-time world champion knows he can’t rely solely on his own results.

He’ll need the two McLaren drivers to take points off each other and, ideally, for someone else to occasionally get between them, as Russell did last weekend.

So, what combinations would need to align for Verstappen to still be crowned world champion in 2025? Find out here.

Although he expressed satisfaction with the second place he achieved, Verstappen believes that for Red Bull to realistically think about a championship comeback, the team must return to the dominant form it once had — something that isn’t happening at the moment.