F1 News: "I don't even think about it" - Max Verstappen responds to questions on his title chances in 2022 after DNF in F1 Australian GP

Out of the three races that have taken place so far this year, Max Verstappen has had to retire his car in two for no fault of his own. As a result, he currently stands sixth in the drivers' standings. When asked what this means for the championship, the reigning world champion emphasized that the car is currently lacking in pace and reliability and hence puts his hopes for a second title in 2022 at risk.

As reported by Autosport, Verstappen commented on what's gone wrong with Red Bull and what requires work, saying:

“Being already so far down in the championship, I think it’s 46 points, from now on we need to be ahead. We need to be quicker, which we are not at the moment. And we need to be reliable, which we are also not. So there’s a lot of things to work on.”

When asked about the chances of a second title win this year, he replied:

“I don’t even think about it. At the moment, there is no reason to believe in it.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, however, took a slightly different approach. Looking at the probability of a significant turnaround soon, given how early it is in the championship, he said:

“We’re only just over 10% of the way into the championship. So I think there’s still a huge amount to go. The encouraging thing is we’ve got the basis of a quick car.”

Reassuring fans, Horner added that he is certain that Imola will see a better result for the team and Max Verstappen. He said:

“He’s obviously frustrated when he initially got out of the car, but he knows we’re all in it together as a team. We’ll bounce back. I’m sure he’ll be coming back strong at Imola.”

Red Bull currently stands third in the constructors' standings. The team is desperate for a better weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which is to take place at the end of the month.

"Like a turtle" - Max Verstappen on the 2022 F1 Aston Martin safety car

Max Verstappen reportedly compared the speed of the 2022 F1 Aston Martin safety car to that of a turtle at the Australian Grand Prix.

As reported by ESPN, Verstappen claims that an investigation is necessary to understand why the safety car is so slow. He said:

“There’s so little grip and also the safety car was driving so slow, it was like a turtle. Unbelievable. To drive 140 [km/h] on the back straight, there was not a damaged car, so I don’t understand why we have to drive so slowly. We have to investigate.”