Autobayng News Team
Max Verstappen expects Red Bull will be more competitive in the penultimate round of the championship than the season finale.
The reigning world champion enjoyed a boost to his title hopes in Las Vegas where he won while neither of the McLaren drivers scored. As a result he goes into this weekend’s penultimate round at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar 24 points behind championship leader Lando Norris.
Verstappen has won the last two races at the circuit and led throughout each of them. Following his strong performance in Las Vegas, Verstappen is confident going into this weekend.
“We’ll still try to win the races ’til the end of the year,” he told Viaplay after the race in Las Vegas. “Some tracks will be maybe a bit better.
“This one probably ended up being quite good for us. Qatar can be decent, Abu Dhabi maybe not so much, but we’ll have a look.”
He scored his eighth consecutive podium finish with his win last weekend, rebounding from a run in which he reached the rostrum just once in five grands prix. Verstappen said Red Bull is now at the level of performance it should have had from the start of the season.
“We have been more consistent on the podium,” he acknowledged. “In some races we’ve not been in contention for the win. From, I would say, the middle of ’24 until the middle of ’25, we were more probably off the podium than on.
“Now we are always fighting for a second or a third place, but at least on the podium. That’s already, for us, a very good step forward. I think that should have been the case from the start, of course, if you want to really fight for a title.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get it right in the beginning. But at least now it’s more consistent and sometimes it’s good enough then to win.”
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