Max Verstappen shrugs off F1 title talk with “nothing to lose” remark

Max Verstappen says he has “nothing to lose” in the final seven races of the 2025 F1 season, pointing out the 69-point gap to championship leader Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen heads into this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix following back-to-back F1 victories. 

The four-time world champion dominated the Italian and Azerbaijan rounds from pole position. 

His winning margin at Monza was over 19 seconds, while in Baku, he finished more than 13 seconds ahead of George Russell at the chequered flag.

Due to Piastri’s DNF in Azerbaijan, Verstappen sits 69 points off the lead with seven rounds to go. 

Verstappen and Red Bull’s improvement in form has led to suggestions he’s back in the title race.

However, the Marina Bay Street Circuit presents teams with an entirely different challenge compared to Monza and Baku. 

High downforce and hot track temperatures should suit McLaren more. 

Red Bull’s performance this weekend will be the true indicator of whether Verstappen can win his fifth straight title.

Speaking on Thursday in Singapore, Verstappen is taking it “race by race.”

“From my side, honestly, I just see it as a race by race thing. 69 points is still a lot, especially if you look at how the season has gone so far,” Verstappen told reporters.

“McLaren has been incredibly dominant, that doesn’t suddenly change. So for me, I’m not too stressed about anything. I’m just enjoying what I’m doing, having fun outside of it, having fun, and just trying to do the best I can every single time that I jump in the car.

“Some tracks naturally will be a bit better for us, some probably a bit worse, maybe this one a bit worse. If we win it, we win it, great. If we don’t, we don’t.

“Life goes on. I don’t know, I’m just not too stressed about anything.”

Red Bull have “nothing to lose”

Given the substantial gap to Piastri in the standings, Verstappen conceded he and Red Bull have “nothing to lose.” 

Red Bull have made steady progress following a raft of upgrades. Yuki Tsunoda’s drive to sixth in Azerbaijan highlighted Red Bull’s progress.

“Nothing to lose really,” Verstappen added. “As a team, we just approach it like that. We try to do the best we can, try to be more competitive, try to hopefully confirm that the direction we took with the car is more competitive, also on a track like this, and that’s what we hope will happen,” Verstappen said.

“And then we’ll see what happens from here onwards.”

If Verstappen wins this year’s title, he would equal Michael Schumacher’s record of five consecutive championships.

Talk has only intensified over Verstappen’s potential late-season title charge, putting the focus on the Dutchman’s impressive performances.

“Of course, sometimes maybe it was a bit more difficult to show that in the middle of the season, but I think every time that you progress as a driver every single year, you want to become better or at least be similar to what you have achieved in the past, and I think we are doing that,” he explained.

“The car has not always been nice or easy to drive, but lately it does seem that it’s heading in the right direction, and actually with a car that is a bit more competitive and also a bit more predictable, you can show better things. I think that’s quite normal.

“In general, of course, I’m very happy with the driving side of things throughout the whole season.”