63 Points, Six Weekends: Verstappen Smells Blood.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen are back in this title fight. Andrea Stella isn’t one for hyperbole, but even he couldn’t downplay what’s become obvious over the last month.
October 12, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com

Verstappen’s deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri has shrunk from almost triple digits to 63 points thanks to a four-race run that reads like a statement: wins at Monza and Baku, second at Zandvoort, and another second on Sunday night in Singapore. And that last one mattered. Marina Bay has been a Red Bull bogey for years; this time, Verstappen chased George Russell to the flag and beat both McLarens on outright pace.

“They were competitive in Monza, very competitive. And then they were competitive in Baku,” McLaren team principal Stella said in Singapore. “We thought, let’s see if that depends on low drag and small rear wings, and if it can be repeated with big wings at high downforce. Here in Singapore, where they’ve struggled in the past, the evidence is they might have resolved both of these factors.

The timing is not subtle. Red Bull has fed a steady stream of upgrades onto the RB21 across these last races, ironing out the balance quirks that left Verstappen fighting the car through the first half of the season. Early spikes of form — think Suzuka and Imola — have become a consistent platform. Meanwhile, McLaren’s MCL39 has been relatively static as Woking’s gaze shifts increasingly to 2026. That’s not a criticism; it’s a championship reality. But it has given Verstappen a foothold with only six race weekends to go.

‘Verstappen Smells Blood’;

https://fastestlap.com/news/63-point...-smells-blood/


MAX PREVIEWS AUSTIN GP: 'WANT TO KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM'
15 October 2025
Niels Hendrix
Verstappen.nl

Max Verstappen is looking forward to the Grand Prix of Austin in Texas in the United States of America, the upcoming weekend. The Dutch Oracle Red Bull Racing driver says: “We made a positive step in Singapore. We have had a strong run of races recently and want to keep up the momentum and hopefully this weekend we can do a bit better. I have been back at the factory this week preparing on the sim and the team has been pushing really hard and we have been analysing where we can improve.”

Max adds: “This circuit is about finding the right compromise in setup between straight-line speed and downforce for the fast-sweeping corners and the bumps can always make things tricky too. Austin is a cool city and has great food so always a fun place to race at. It’s another sprint weekend, so we’ll have to get on top of things quickly as there is less time to fine tune things, but this will be a challenge for everyone.”

“Back at the factory this week preparing on the sim”;

https://news.verstappen.com/en/article/5975/


Villeneuve backs title outsider Verstappen for 'best championship yet'
14 Oct 2025
Ben Winship
GPblog.com

Jacques Villeneuve has backed Max Verstappen to win the 2025 Drivers Championship after closing the gap to the McLaren drivers in recent weeks. Speaking at a 75th anniversary event for F1 held in Italy, the 1997 world champion claimed Verstappen will overcome a 63 point gap to Oscar Piastri in the remaining six race weekends.

When asked who would win the 2025 Drivers Championship Villeneuve was quick to shout ‘Verstappen!’. He said: “And so it will be his best World Championship yet. Because the two McLarens are suffering too much under the pressure. They need to wake up.” With back-to-back wins in Italy and Azerbaijan, four-time world champion Verstappen has cut the gap to championship leader Oscar Piastri down from 97 points to 63 in the space of just four rounds.

‘Villeneuve was quick to shout “Verstappen!”’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/ville...ampionship-yet


Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Max Verstappen is playing a ‘terrifying’ game in 2025 title fight
13 October 2025
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer

Red Bull were disappointed Verstappen did not win in Singapore as he came home second behind George Russell, who dominated the race. The 27-year-old was gunning for pole position, but he abandoned his final lap by the pit entry. Verstappen claimed that Norris impeded him with dirty air while entering the final two corners. For Juan Pablo Montoya, this is a ‘terrifying’ game that the Dutchman is playing to unnerve the McLaren drivers and create ‘tension’ amongst them.

“It’s terrifying that Max is playing that game and the only reason Max is playing that game is because he wants to pit the two McLaren drivers against each other and he’s very strategic,” he said via AS Columbia. “He’s not stupid. So he’s perfect and saying it in front of Oscar, right? Well, you weren’t a McLaren driver, the other one was the one who made me uncomfortable, do you understand me? To create that tension.”

“It wasn’t even visible, and it wasn’t even there. I’m telling you, if Lando was driving fast, opening up a gap very quickly, all the gap he’s opening up, because he’s going full speed, one says, ‘No, but he wasn’t even close enough for it to affect anything’. Well, where it would have affected Lando, he wouldn’t have been able to get as close as he got to Max in the race. Until Lando had problems when he got to a second or 1.3, something like that, but until then Lando had no problems and was much faster than Max. So, if you look at that and say, let’s say it’s not 1.3, but 2 and a half, 3 seconds, 3 seconds. Lando was ahead by 3 seconds, if you know what I mean.”

“It’s terrifying”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jua...5-title-fight/


Schumacher predicts bleak future for McLaren, tips Verstappen for win
13 Oct 2025
Samson Ero
GPblog.com

Ralf Schumacher has shared a grim prediction regarding the situation unfolding at McLaren, while also tipping Max Verstappen to take victory at the United States Grand Prix. The 50-year-old, who spoke on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, was asked whether Zak Brown would soon have to decide who the team’s lead driver should be amid their title fight. Schumacher, however, stressed that while the McLaren CEO is unlikely to favour anyone, there might soon be a need for a decision as Verstappen closes in on both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

“I don’t think Zak has the kind of character that would make him prefer one driver over the other. I’ll put it this way – if Max really comes up again, really close, then you’d have to get involved. Otherwise, they’ll just let them race. I just hope it doesn’t come to a final bang. Somehow, I have the feeling that soon, the two of them might not make it out of the first corner.”

Ralf Schumacher continued stating that Verstappen could clinch another win at the Grand Prix in Austin, adding that McLaren’s dominance appears to be slipping away. “Then it becomes a problem, and Max Verstappen just wins there [in Austin]. The next race in Texas will be very good for Red Bull again, and it could be difficult once more for McLaren, who also seem to be slowly getting tense. Anyone who knows Andreas Stella knows that. I’d say the dominance is really gone now, and that’s something they don’t understand at all and can’t afford at this stage of the season.”

‘Grim prediction regarding the situation unfolding at McLaren’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/schum...tappen-for-win


Verstappen sets sights on Austin: 'We’re pushing hard to improve'
16 Oct 2025
Olly Darcy
GPblog.com

Red Bull's Max Verstappen hopes that his recent "strong run of races" will guide him towards the front at the United States Grand Prix. Coming into the sprint weekend in Austin, Verstappen sits on 273 points and P3 in the world championship, 63 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri on 336 points.

After his P2 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Verstappen tempered expectations after bringing himself back into the title discussion, warned his team that they "need to dominate" for the rest of the season if there was any chance of winning the title.

However, there is still a belief from some that the Dutchman will win his fifth world title in as many years, with 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve backing the 27-year-old to finish top of the standings.

‘Verstappen sets sights on Austin’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...ard-to-improve