Max Verstappen is not surprised to not be on F1 podium off-late, as he is not certain about winning another race in 2025 but is hoping that Red Bull learns from the races.
In the last five races, Red Bull’s Verstappen just has one podium and just two in last eight races – which includes a win. It just hasn’t been the time for the Dutchman. He has dropped off the McLaren pair and is moving away from the 2025 drivers’ championship fight.
He is not surprised to be not on the podium considering the level at which the Red Bull car is in. In fact, he is not sure if they can win any of the races in the rest of the year. If they do, it will be more of a surprise than a norm. “Yeah, but it is not a surprise [for me to be not on podium off-late], of course, if you see the problems that we are having,” said Verstappen to media.
“I think, on the other hand, in the last four years, I have had a lot of good results, so it comes and goes – success. I don’t know [if we can win another race in 2025]. After a weekend like Hungary, it is very difficult to say, but you never know, there might be always be surprises or whatever. I think we always want a decent finish. Of course, the focus for everyone, I think, is already a lot on 2026.
“But I think what we need to try and achieve is have more consistent [car] behaviours and results at the end of the day,” summed up Verstappen, who already made up his mind about potentially not winning the drivers’ championship in 2025. He hoped to win, but he is realistic to acknowledge the performance shown by McLaren, who deserve to win the titles.
For Red Bull, his hopes is to take as much from 2025 and be ready for the 2026 ride. “I never… I just stay neutral and everything you know, so I don’t become overly optimistic or pessimistic or whatever,” continued Verstappen. “So I was like, ‘Well, we’ll see. I hope, of course, that we can still win some races here and there.’ And, I mean, we still did that. We still won two races. But, yeah, it is tough.
“But at the other end, you need to acknowledge that McLaren has done a fantastic job, from last year to this year, and then, from our side, it’s been a bit more difficult. I think no one really knows for next year where they will be at. And for us this year, I think realistically it’s going to be very difficult, of course, to find a car. I think it’s really difficult enough to fight with Ferrari and Mercedes.
“But I think there’s still a lot of opportunity to learn more about the car and the behaviour of the car, because still, of course, I know that the cars will be different next year, there are still things that you can take out of this year and also implement for next year. I mean, I don’t really need to go into detail about that.
“I just like the people that I’m working with. We have had already a lot of great success. Next year is completely different, also from the engine side. Everything is all very exciting, that’s for sure. I think I’ll leave it at that,” summed up Verstappen.
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