Horner responds to startling Verstappen F1 title claim

Yesterday at 01:25 AM

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has issued a response to Max Verstappen's suggestion that he is not currently in a championship fight. Verstappen endured a difficult qualifying on Saturday in Bahrain and ended the session in seventh place, leaving him to assert he is not a contender for the title. While the Dutchman remained hopeful over the possibility of his fortunes changing during the season, he endured a difficult grand prix as he struggled with the car's balance and overheating issues which hampered his pace. Verstappen crossed the line in sixth place, moving to third in the standings behind Oscar Piastri who dominated en route to victory. With another 20 races scheduled on the calendar, Horner asserted it is too early for Verstappen to be counted out. "It's a 24-race championship," Horner told media including RacingNews365 . "We're eight points behind in the drivers' championship. "We know we need to make progress very quickly. So it was important to score points, he fought for every point that he could in a difficult car.  "It's how they add up at the end of the year that's important." As well as his concerns with the car, Verstappen lost further time in the pit lane as a malfunctioning gantry light and a stuck tyre cost him on two separate stops. Despite having a double-point finish for the first time this year, Red Bull's 10 points from Bahrain marked its lowest weekend haul of the season so far. "It was a bad weekend for the team, nothing went our way from the start of the start of the race," Horner added. "The start, we didn't get off the line cleanly and the pit stops didn't work well for us.  "The tyre degradation, temperatures got very high. If you've got a well-balanced car, the whole thing just comes together that much easier.