Stefano Domenicali has reignited Max Verstappen’s hopes in the world championship with a message that leaves more possibilities open than many expected.
The title fight has heated up again after Stefano Domenicali publicly reaffirmed his belief that Max Verstappen can still reopen the battle for the championship.
This season has taken an unpredictable turn. After a strong start, the Dutch champion began to lose ground in the standings, partly due to a less dominant Red Bull and a series of inconsistent races marked by strategic errors and technical issues.
As we reach the end of the championship with only three races remaining — and with nearly a 50-point gap to provisional leader Lando Norris — many already consider Verstappen’s title chase compromised. Yet Formula 1 has repeatedly shown that nothing is over until the mathematics deliver a final verdict.
The recent run of results — a long sequence of podiums and victories since the Dutch Grand Prix — paints the picture of a difficult but not impossible path. And it is precisely in this atmosphere of uncertainty that Stefano Domenicali steps in, invoking a past season in which the destiny of the championship changed at the very last moment.
“2007 teaches us everything”
The debate came alive again after a clear and unexpected statement from the CEO of Formula 1. Stefano Domenicali wanted to underline that the season is far from closed for Verstappen, encouraging both the driver and fans not to treat the final outcome as already written.
His words made it explicit that the head of Formula 1 still believes in Max Verstappen’s world championship chances: “I also told him [Verstappen] that the title is still possible — just think back to 2007.”
The reference is unmistakable: that year Kimi Räikkönen managed to overturn a championship that seemed already decided, making a last-minute comeback and winning the title by the smallest of margins.
By citing 2007, Stefano Domenicali is suggesting that the possible combinations are still alive and that mathematics gives Max Verstappen enough room to attempt an unexpected comeback. It is a message that not only motivates the driver but also reminds the entire paddock that in Formula 1, history is full of endings that seemed impossible until the final laps.
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