After back-to-back wins, is Max Verstappen in the F1 2025 title hunt?

Max Verstappen has not ruled out the possibility of winning a fifth world title this year after he closed the gap to the McLaren pair in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion dominated Sunday’s race in Baku to claim his fourth victory of the season as championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out and Lando Norris could only finish seventh.

Verstappen’s win leaves him 69 points behind Piastri and 44 adrift of Norris with seven races still remaining.

The Red Bull driver had already written off his chances of defending his crown earlier in the campaign, but have back-to-back victories in Italy and Azerbaijan given him renewed hope?

“I mean, I don’t rely on hope. But it’s seven rounds left - 69 points is a lot. So I personally don’t think about it,” Verstappen insisted.

“I just go race by race, what I have been doing basically the whole season - just trying to do the best we can, try to score the most points that we can. And then after Abu Dhabi, we’ll know.”

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies is taking the same approach as Verstappen, stressing: "We take it race by race!”

He added: "What to say [about Verstappen]? Such a masterclass in qualifying yesterday, a huge gap in super difficult conditions with the wind blowing at 60kph.

"Today it was difficult to estimate what would be the race pace, nobody really did some long runs on Friday, and he just pulled away lap after lap.

"We knew after Monza that Monza is so specific that it was not so clear how much of the progress we could bring on a track like here, so it's a good feedback for everyone that has been pushing so hard in Milton Keynes to get the car faster.

"We know Baku is also very specific with only slow-speed corners but certainly it's two tracks in a row where we at least had the pace to fight.”

McLaren wary of Max Verstappen threat

McLaren firmly believe Verstappen remains a real threat in the 2025 F1 title battle.

Speaking after the Dutchman claimed pole position in Baku, McLaren boss Andrea Stella was left adamant that Verstappen is in the hunt.

“The takeaway from the Monza race, and the way we have reviewed this internally and set our mindset for the final one-third of the races, was that Red Bull's performance in Monza should not be considered a one-off because of Monza or a one-off because of low downforce,” he said.

“They have taken a new floor in Monza, and they might be setting up their car slightly differently. Now Verstappen is talking about grounding much more than he was doing before, so they might have unlocked performance.

“I would not be surprised at all that Red Bull may continue the streak that they have started - because pole position in Monza, victory, and now pole position here.

“Red Bull are a very serious contender to win races and a very serious contender for the drivers' championship.”

Asked if was being serious that Verstappen can win the championship, Stella replied: "A firm yes. Can you write it in capitals? Because it was quoted in capitals."