It is still a long shot for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to enter the championship fight but with seven races left in calendar, can he do it?
“I don’t rely on hope,” the 27-year-old said in the Azerbaijan post-race conference.
The four-time world champion is currently 44 points behind second-placed Lando Norris and 69 points behind leader Oscar Piastri.
To win his fifth consecutive title, Verstappen will need to score an average of 10 more points than Piastri in every race to overtake him in the overall standings.
There is a total of 199 race and sprint winner points up for grabs.
Red Bull brought an upgraded new floor for Verstappen in Monza to help with the balance of the car. He went on to win the grand prix in Italy and the next race in Baku.
The improvement to his car could pose a threat to the McLaren duo in the battle for the championship.
McLaren have had issues since the return from the summer break, with Norris retiring at the Dutch Grand Prix because of an oil leak, the team order controversy in Monza and Piastri crashing out in the first lap in Azerbaijan.
It will still be difficult for Verstappen to make a comeback and a lot would need to go wrong for McLaren – but he has not given up hope just yet.
“It’s seven rounds left, 69 points is a lot. I personally don’t think about it,” said Verstappen after Baku.
“I just go race by race, what I have been doing basically the whole season – just trying to do the best we can, try to score the most points that we can. And then after Abu Dhabi, we’ll know.”
Verstappen has won four races so far this campaign, with victories coming in Japan, two in Italy and Azerbaijan. He also won the Belgian sprint race.
“Max is in the contention for the drivers’ championship, ” admitted McLaren team principal Andrea Stella after Baku. “We knew it and we got confirmation today.”
Red Bull will also want to improve their constructor standing points, currently 272, to finish in the top three. They would need to outperform Ferrari (286) and Mercedes (290) to move into second.
