Title race does not feel like a fight – Verstappen

Max Verstappen of Red Bull claims this year’s championship contest doesn’t “feel like a fight.”

After winning two of the first seven races, the four-time champion is 25 points adrift of championship leader Oscar Piastri.

Lando Norris, Piastri’s McLaren team-mate, is three points adrift of the Australian in victories.

Verstappen made it clear that he had little chance of securing a fifth title in 2025.

Verstappen remarked, “I just try my best and have a little fun out there.”

“I’m more excited if I know we’re going to be very quickly,” she said. That is the most exciting. Although I always make an effort, this year has had some real positives and some negatives, of course. We are really off the pace in some races, which is unfavorable.

That also doesn’t imply that I’m enjoying or loving it. It appeals to me. It hasn’t been remembered forever up until this point.

Verstappen’s pessimism stems from the fact that while the Red Bull is quick on circuits with medium and high-speed corners, like the Barcelona track, which hosts this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, it is slow at low-speed and over bumps and kerbs on street circuits.

He continued, “I don’t believe, not at all. Every weekend, I just rock up to the track and do my best. I don’t need to believe it. Totally or not. Every time I go out there, I make sure to do my best, I am aware of this.

“I will put it P5 if that’s with a car that can do that,” I said. I’ll win if it can win. Since I have a lot of free time outside of that, I just approach it very casually and it doesn’t consume a lot of energy.

Verstappen was a title contender, according to Piastri, who has four victories.

According to Piastri, “I don’t believe he can be counted out.” They have genuinely competed at a respectable number of circuits before, and the gap is not very large at the moment.

Verstappen expressed concern that a new technical regulation for this weekend would improve his chances of defeating McLaren.

At this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, F1 will conduct more stringent front wing flexibility tests to stop competitors from purposefully utilizing wing flex to improve aerodynamics.

Teams can balance their cars between high-speed corners and low-speed corners by flexing the front wings and using cunning carbon-fibre manufacturing techniques.

Because the wing lifts up when the car is cornering, they also “back off” on straights to increase top speed without sacrificing cornering performance.

Red Bull had hoped McLaren’s upcoming rule change, which allows wings to flex less for a certain weight when tested by governing body the FIA, would hinder the team.

Verstappen, however, says that “more must be done for our side to succeed.” Although some people will experience a little more impact than others, the situation won’t change everything.

“It will probably affect the car’s balance a little bit. Not too much for us. I don’t anticipate significant time differences between the teams.

Norris, who won in Monaco on Sunday, claimed that his team was unconcerned with them.

No, not at all, said Norris. There are a few minor adjustments, but nothing that will alter how we operate.

We’re confident because Lando has run the front wing before this year, even though I have not yet done so.

Not our magic bullet, though. Our main strength is not our ability to use magic bullets, but we do not.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton criticized the decision to place the stricter tests on the grounds that it would stop teams from addressing a fundamental issue with the aerodynamic behavior of the current generation of cars. The cars typically have too much front grip in the slow-speed corners and too much in the high-speed corners.