Verstappen still has a shot at 2025 title despite Red Bull struggles
Max Verstappen could still clinch the world championship in 2025, but it’s going to be really tough given Red Bull’s current performance issues.
That’s according to former F1 driver Christijan Albers, who didn’t hold back when discussing Red Bull’s technical problems on De Telegraaf’s podcast.
“It’s starting to mess up,” Albers said bluntly about the team that no longer has the grid’s fastest car.
He pointed to Christian Horner’s telling comment that Adrian Newey had “no influence” on the cars anymore.
This season is make-or-break for technical director Pierre Waché and his team.
“I feel, when I sit and watch like this, and I analyse Max… When I see how fast he is in the final phase, that there are possibilities,” Albers explained.
The real test will come when Red Bull introduces its first major updates to the RB21. Those changes could potentially turn things around for the struggling team.
“Maybe then that turnaround will come, they can perform well and the car does improve. Nothing is impossible,” Albers said.
He reminded fans how quickly things changed last season. “We saw that last year too; how dominant they were at the beginning of the season and suddenly McLaren came up.”
## Red Bull’s hidden advantage
There’s a silver lining for Verstappen and his team, according to Albers.
With technical regulations now so well implemented across all teams, making dramatic performance gains through major updates has become incredibly difficult. The real edge comes from fine-tuning setups.
And that’s exactly where Red Bull excels.
“Red Bull is really top of the bill in terms of fine-tuning with their engineers, from Friday to Saturday, that is incredible. They beat every other team in the paddock in that area,” the Dutchman said.
This setup expertise could be Verstappen’s secret weapon as he fights to stay in championship contention despite not having the fastest car on the grid.
