McLaren's Andrea Stella Insists Max Verstappen Remains an F1 Title Threat

Despite a significant points gap, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella maintains that defending champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull cannot be ruled out of the 2025 F1 title fight. His comments come after Verstappen secured a second consecutive pole position in Baku, overcoming qualifying chaos while McLaren's drivers struggled.

Why it matters:

• For months, the 2025 season has been predicted as a two-way intra-team battle between McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
• Stella's steadfast belief in Verstappen as a threat, even with a 94-point deficit to Piastri, suggests a deeper understanding of Red Bull's potential resurgence and the dynamic of an intra-team rivalry.
• A resurgent Red Bull with Verstappen consistently winning could drastically alter the championship narrative, adding an unpredictable element to what many perceive as a McLaren-dominated season.

The details:

• Verstappen secured pole position in Baku, demonstrating strong form after a dominant victory in Monza.
• McLaren's Oscar Piastri crashed in Turn 4 during Baku qualifying, while Lando Norris had a messy final lap, leading to them starting seventh and ninth, respectively.
• Red Bull's resurgence: McLaren's post-Monza analysis confirms Red Bull's improved performance is not a one-off. Andrea Stella noted: "They have taken a new floor to Monza. They might be setting up their car slightly differently. We hear now Verstappen talking about grounding much more than it was doing before. So they might have unlocked performance."
• Stella explicitly stated, "A firm YES" when asked if he truly believes Verstappen is a serious contender for the drivers' championship.
• He emphasized Verstappen's four-time world champion status and Red Bull's fast car, adding that Piastri and Norris might take points away from each other due to their close competition.

The big picture:

• Verstappen's current gap to Piastri is 94 points, with 224 points remaining in the season.
• Historically, such comebacks are rare but not unprecedented (e.g., Vettel in 2010, Raikkonen in 2007).
• The modern era's unprecedented car reliability means a rival's misfortune would be a crucial factor for a comeback of this magnitude.
• While mathematically challenging, Stella's perspective highlights the respect for Verstappen's talent and Red Bull's engineering capabilities, and acknowledges the inherent challenge of managing two competitive drivers vying for a title within the same team.

What's next:

• Verstappen would need to win almost every remaining race and sprint, coupled with Piastri scoring significantly fewer points, for such a comeback to materialize.
• The dynamic of Piastri and Norris potentially taking points from each other, as Stella suggested, could indeed provide a narrow window for Verstappen if Red Bull's performance continues to surge.
• The championship battle will intensify as the season progresses, with every race weekend becoming critical for all three contenders, even if the odds seem stacked against Verstappen.