Ted Kravitz refuses to believe what Max Verstappen is now saying about his 2025 F1 championship chances

Max Verstappen kept the 2025 championship fight open with his second win of the season at Imola.

Verstappen overtook Oscar Piastri at the first corner with a stunning move around the outside. Besides stoppages from a virtual safety car and full-course safety car, the Red Bull driver was unchallenged at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The Dutchman won by over six seconds from Lando Norris, with McLaren teammate Piastri in third. Verstappen moves to within nine points of the former and 22 of the latter in the drivers’ championship.

Red Bull’s upgrades to the RB21 at Imola paid off handsomely. Verstappen’s issue with understeering disappeared, which was crucial in the high-speed corners and twisty nature of the circuit.

Verstappen did not complain about the RB21 during the race, which relieved Helmut Marko. The four-time champion had been constantly calling for updates to come to the car, with McLaren pulling ahead at the front.

The Woking outfit are still the team to beat in 2025, leaving Verstappen in a difficult spot to defend his crown. But Ted Kravitz does not believe what the Red Bull driver says about his chances.

Ted Kravitz refuses to believe that Max Verstappen is out of the 2025 title fight

McLaren have dominated most of the 2025 season thus far. With four pole positions and five wins, Piastri and Norris are in a strong position to win both championships.

The performance of the MCL39 has been on another level to the rest of the field. After Piastri won the Bahrain GP, Verstappen claimed he was just ‘taking part’ in the championship, rather than fighting for the championship.

Now being 22 points adrift of the top spot after his Imola win, Kravitz says Verstappen is ‘really not’ out of contention in 2025.

“What is it, nine points Lando to Max now? Lando’s ahead of Max and make it only 22 behind Oscar, the championship leader and then, still to come in Spain, with perhaps the technical reset and everything that we’re talking about,” he said via The F1 Show.

“Wow. Did the Verstappens think they were out of the championship? After Miami, were they saying: ‘We’re never going to win a championship?’

“Max did say, if my memory doesn’t fail me: ‘Well, we’re kind of out of this championship now’ and they’re really not at all, are they?”

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How does Max Verstappen assess his 2025 title chances now?

With 17 Grand Prix and four Sprint races still to go, Verstappen and Red Bull have plenty of time to clinch a fifth consecutive title. The Dutchman’s wins at Suzuka and Imola prove he can be a contender in the RB21.

However, it is very circuit-dependent. The RB21 is stronger in the high-speed corners, with Suzuka and Imola being fast-flowing tracks that are difficult to pass on.

McLaren have the fastest car, which they have proved in the other five races. Verstappen admitted after the Emilia Romagna GP that Red Bull still have work to do, as the RB21 performs better at some circuits than others.

Marko says Verstappen must win ‘five or six’ races to have a strong chance of beating the McLarens for the title. With Piastri already having four, he has a mountain to climb, but he is far from being out of contention.