F1 | Helmut Marko’s déjà vu worries McLaren: why Max Verstappen can still win the title. Helmut Marko believes Max Verstappen can still win the 2025 F1 World Championship.

Helmut Marko still believes in Max Verstappen’s chances of winning the World Championship and points to a déjà vu scenario that is worrying McLaren. Just a few months ago, no one could have imagined someone disrupting the two McLaren drivers in their title chase. Yet, with four races to go, Max Verstappen remains in contention, sitting just over 30 points from the top. Marko, recalling a very similar situation from several years ago, continues to have faith in his protégé.

Verstappen’s title chase

Until the summer break, this season was practically dominated by the two McLaren drivers. From Australia to the Netherlands, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri alternated in victories, with only three exceptions: George Russell winning in Canada, and Max Verstappen claiming wins in Japan and Imola. However, the four-time world champion and Red Bull have clearly stepped up their pace since returning from the holidays, increasingly appearing in the McLarens’ mirrors.

Crushing wins in Azerbaijan, Monza, and the United States, plus podiums in Singapore and Mexico, have seen Verstappen recover over 100 points. Now, with four races left and two Sprint events still to come, everything is possible.

Marko believes it could repeat 2010

Helmut Marko firmly believes in Max Verstappen’s title bid. In an interview with Austrian outlet Krone, he recalled the 2010 season when Sebastian Vettel arrived at the final race in Abu Dhabi third in the standings and went on to claim the World Championship. “It’s crazy that 15 years have already passed. Vettel was behind Alonso and Webber in the championship when he arrived at Yas Marina; in the end, he was the one who triumphed.”

“I hope the same happens this year,” Helmut Marko admitted. “Even though things didn’t go perfectly in Mexico or earlier in Singapore, we recovered important points on the two McLarens. This happened for five consecutive weekends, and now we arrive in Brazil, where last year we made a significant step toward the title. As a team, we are used to fighting for the championship until the very last moment: it happened in 2010, then in 2012, and again in 2021.”