Verstappen back in title hunt as Red Bull rallies under Mekies

Max Verstappen may be back in World Championship contention, just weeks after Red Bull insiders appeared to write off his 2025 campaign.

With McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris sitting 69 and 61 points ahead of Verstappen respectively, veteran Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko had previously suggested the title was out of reach, but ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, his outlook has changed.

“We still have 12 Grands Prix and four sprints ahead of us, which equates to 300 World Championship points from the GPs and 32 from the sprint races,” Marko told Speed Week.

“Against this backdrop, and also due to further improvements for Belgium, which should bring us closer to McLaren, we certainly don’t see the fight for the World Championship as over.”

Ralf Schumacher believes the team's resurgence is due in large part to new leadership under Laurent Mekies, who replaced Christian Horner as team principal earlier this month

“Mekies is an incredible guy. Verstappen and he have known each other from the ground up. They trust each other,” Schumacher said on Sky Deutschland’s Backstage Boxengasse. “Mekies will bring the team together again. Everyone will pull together and give it their all.”

He added that Horner’s departure may have resolved the internal rifts that had caused Verstappen to consider a move to Mercedes.

“The poorly functioning car, the internal problems, and the bad mood in the team are what led Verstappen to consider a change,” Schumacher explained. “But now with Mekies, everything is actually very open again.

“I actually believe at the moment, and last week it looked completely different, that Verstappen will stay at Red Bull.”

Although Verstappen recently met Mercedes boss Toto Wolff while holidaying in Sardinia, Wolff has since indicated that George Russell and Kimi Antonelli remain the preferred lineup for 2026.

Meanwhile, Red Bull is bringing upgrades to both Spa and Hungary, with a new front wing expected this weekend. At Silverstone, Verstappen used a low-downforce rear wing to grab pole in dry conditions, though it proved less effective in the wet.

“The Spa-Francorchamps circuit should suit our car better, especially given the normally very changeable weather conditions,” said Marko. “Hungary is likely to be a little trickier.”

Verstappen immediately returned to the simulator at Milton Keynes following his holiday.

“I was back at the factory last week to spend some time in the sim with the team,” he said. “I’m looking forward to working closely with Laurent.

“Spa is a classic and always my favourite track on the calendar... a very old school circuit where you have to do everything right.”