Max Verstappen will seize any opportunity he has to win the drivers’ championship this year if his car is quick enough, says Esteban Ocon.

The Red Bull driver’s victories in Monza and Baku have cut his deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri from 104 points to 69 with seven rounds remaining.

Ocon, who fought Verstappen for a Formula 3 title in 2014, tipped the reigning four-times Formula 1 world champion to get back into contention.

“We all know Max and how dangerous he is when there’s something to grab,” said Ocon. “So there’s a good chance that if he’s got a competitive car until the end of the year, he can catch back.”

Piastri’s team mate Lando Norris, who is 44 points ahead of Verstappen, said only that his rival’s chance was “more than zero.” Verstappen’s former team mate Alexander Albon pointed out “if you have one crash between Lando and Oscar then it’s all game on.”

However Charles Leclerc, who finished runner-up to Verstappen in 2022, was more sceptical of his chances, giving him a 20% chance of winning the title again this year.

“I think the gap is substantial,” the Ferrari driver explained, pointing out Verstappen’s two wins came at circuits which are very different to this weekend’s venue. “We’ve been on tracks [that are] low downforce – Monza, Baku – [where] I feel the Red Bull was very, very strong.

“I expect the McLaren to come back at the pace we’ve seen for most of the season here and some other future tracks. So I see it very unlikely.

“But we never know. Obviously they brought an upgrade in Monza which seems to be working very much. But whether it will work on high-downforce tracks, I don’t think [it will be] enough to beat the McLaren.”

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

Miss nothing from RaceFans

Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:

2025 Singapore Grand Prix

Browse all 2025 Singapore Grand Prix articles