Red Bull make stark admission about F1 title hope after Max Verstappen DNF

Red Bull have acknowledged that their F1 title hopes have been left in tatters following Max Verstappen’s DNF at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen was taken out on the opening lap of Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring after being hit by Kimi Antonelli’s out-of-control Mercedes at Turn 3.

The retirement, coupled with McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing first and second, leaves Verstappen trailing championship leader Piastri by 61 points after 11 races.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has now seemingly admitted defeat in the title race.

“We’ve got some updates coming over the next two races, but this was a performance that, I’d almost say... yes, it forces us to write off the championship,” Marko told Austrian TV ORF.

Asked if he was being serious, Marko replied: “With this kind of gap and unless we manage to catch up soon enough to win on merit, I mean, how many points is Max trailing now?

“Looking at McLaren’s performance; they only had a dip in Canada, when they needed new parts. That’s not something we can rely on happening again. So no, it doesn’t look good.

“Unfortunately, it’s both, the time gap and the 60-point margin, which is nearly equivalent to three race wins. That’s incredibly difficult to recover.”

Speaking to Sky Sports, Max Verstappen also appeared to concede that his chances of retaining the world championship are over.

“We try to do our best, always. My mentality doesn’t change,” the Dutchman, who is seeking to win a fifth consecutive world title this year, said.

"We’ve won a lot in the past. Sometimes you have to accept you are not winning and just try to do the best we can.”

F1 2025 title battle now a two-horse race?

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes the McLaren duo are now in a two-horse race for the world championship.

“McLaren, you can see how they're racing each other, they've got a cushion to the rest of the field. For us we just focus one race at a time,” Horner said.

“We don't even think about championships, we just focus on the next race at Silverstone and what can we achieve there. I still believe that we have strength and depth in this team and unfortunately we haven't seen the performance come that we would like.

“We're at the end of a set of regulations. I think we are compromised by some of the tools that we have, but it's the same fundamental group of people that 18 months ago had designed a car that won every single grand prix by one. They didn't suddenly just become idiots overnight.

“So, you have to acknowledge the great job that McLaren is doing, and congratulations to them.

“But for us, it's just about working harder, because everybody's working incredibly hard. It’s just working smarter. And let's see over the next few races.”