“A lot needs to happen”: Max Verstappen on challenging Oscar Piastri for 2025 F1 championship

Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull must significantly improve their competitiveness to challenge Oscar Piastri for the championship. Speaking at the post-race press conference in Canada, the Dutchman described the weekend as decent but nothing exceptional despite finishing second.

His result in Montreal helped narrow the gap slightly to both McLaren drivers, but Verstappen still trails Lando Norris by 21 points and championship leader Oscar Piastri by 43 points in the Drivers’ standings.

Max Verstappen stressed that Red Bull need to start winning more races if they are to mount a serious title challenge. He acknowledged that McLaren has set the benchmark in 2025 and remains difficult to beat. To close the gap, he believes the Milton Keynes-based squad must find performance gains and improve their current form.

Asked what it would take to beat Piastri and McLaren, Verstappen said:

“A lot needs to happen for that, to be honest. We need to start winning races more often. And how do we do that? By being more competitive. Now, [Canada] was a good weekend, but again, not competitive enough. We need to start winning races more often. And how do we do that? By being more competitive.

"Now, [Canada] was a good weekend, but again, not competitive enough. But what I think so far, what McLaren has shown this whole season is quite extraordinary and difficult to beat. So now, OK, one weekend is not as good, but they are still by far the favorites. And that's not going to be something that is easily beaten. But the coming races, we really want to try and improve our car.”

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Sergio Perez praises Max Verstappen as an exceptional talent in F1

Sergio Perez has praised Max Verstappen as an exceptional talent, stating that the Dutchman fully deserves the success he has achieved in Formula 1. Reflecting on Red Bull’s recent struggles, Perez expressed sympathy for his former team, admitting it was difficult to watch them being outperformed. He added that it was not an enjoyable sight to see a team he once raced for, facing such challenges on the track.

Speaking on the Desde el Paddock podcast, Perez said:

“I have very good friends at Red Bull and people may think I take pleasure in what's happened, but no. The truth is that Max Verstappen deserves all the success he has. He's an incredible driver and very few people understand how he works. He's exceptional.”

Since Perez's departure, Red Bull has struggled to regain their competitive form. Performance issues and the absence of a reliable second driver have hampered their progress throughout the season. Despite testing both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda in the second seat, the former champions have lost valuable points due to the lack of consistent support alongside Max Verstappen.

Currently sitting fourth in the Constructors’ championship with 162 points, Red Bull’s struggles are evident as 155 of those points have been scored by Verstappen alone, underlining the team’s heavy reliance on their lead driver.