Verstappen still in title picture – Stella

Andrea Stella says Max Verstappen remains a factor in the 2025 drivers’ championship, even as McLaren prepares to clinch the constructors’ crown.

The team could secure the teams’ title in Baku on Sunday, but Stella told De Telegraaf that Verstappen’s poles at Monza and Baku, plus victory in Italy, prove Red Bull is back in the mix for the drivers'.

"Do I still consider Verstappen a contender? Absolutely," he said. "Write that in capital letters. "We've already concluded internally that Red Bull's victory in Monza two weeks ago shouldn't be considered an exception. They arrived there with a new floor, and perhaps they're setting up their car slightly differently."

McLaren’s own Saturday - and whole weekend so far - has been messy, with Oscar Piastri crashing in qualifying. "I think it would be a bit too ambitious to aim for the win," admitted the championship leader.

Teammate Lando Norris also rued his strategy error. "It hurts a bit, simply because this isn't normal for us," he said. "If there had been a red or yellow flag, everyone else would have been left looking like losers. Now I kind of look like the loser and they look like heroes, but that's the price you sometimes have to pay."

Norris agreed that victory will be difficult. "Red Bull is simply too fast. They're very fast, about as fast as us."

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, however, said the renewed title talk - despite the team's surge in form - is unrealistic. "Theoretically, it's still possible. But in practice, so many things have to come together that it's not realistic for us."

Still, he welcomed the improved atmosphere under Laurent Mekies. "The driver is more involved with him, and the team spirit is simply better," he told Kleine Zeitung. "Max is an experienced driver, and his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, is also among the best. Now both are contributing their practical knowledge much more, which gives us a broader base."

He cautioned, however, about race strategy following qualifying. "We had to use more tyres than we'd planned," said the Austrian. "I still think we have a good chance here." Ex-driver Christijan Albers also expects McLaren to be stronger on Sunday.

"The McLarens are still stronger, faster, and very dominant," he told Viaplay. "But Red Bull is always on top of things. "You see that with those red tyres, when the temperature drops and it starts raining.

"They're always there. You don't see that with the other teams, and I find that quite impressive. They've bounced back strongly, but they still have a lot of room for improvement in this area."

McLaren team boss Stella concluded: "We mustn't forget that they have Max Verstappen at their disposal, and it's not for nothing that he won the championship four times in a row, and as I've said before, there will certainly be races where McLaren doesn't have a competitive advantage."