Verstappen boosted by F1 title charge but knows he and Red Bull ‘need to be perfect’ to overhaul McLaren drivers

Max Verstappen knows full well that he and Red Bull will “need to be perfect” from this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix to the season finale in Abu Dhabi if he is to beat McLaren rivals Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to the title.

Verstappen was 104 points adrift of championship leader Piastri just five rounds ago, but he has cut that gap to 40 with three victories and a second-place finish across the last four races.

Arriving in Mexico City for this weekend’s action at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the Dutchman reflected on his and Red Bull’s recent form and the challenge that lies ahead.

“It’s clear that we had a good run,” said Verstappen. “I’ve definitely been enjoying it a lot more like that, and of course, we will try to carry that momentum forward.

“At the same time, we know that we need to be perfect until the end to have a chance, but that’s fine. We just try to enjoy it, try to do the best we can, and maximise it. At the end, we will see where we end up.”

Asked if he is now the favourite to win what would be a fifth world title, Verstappen continued: “I don’t know. It’s still a big gap to the lead.

“We’re not too stressed about it. We’re just trying to enjoy it, trying to get the most out of it until the end. If it works, amazing. If it doesn’t, we can still be very proud of the upswing in performance that we showed.

“I think at one point, everyone thought that it would be an easy McLaren championship, and at least it’s not easy. We will try to do everything we can.”

Verstappen has an enviable record in Mexico, having won the event five times, but he reiterated that Red Bull’s recent form – and their pace here in previous years – does not guarantee a repeat this weekend.

“Honestly, I’m expecting a fun weekend,” he said. “The crowd has always been amazing here – they love F1, they really get passionate about it. Then, of course, the stadium, the atmosphere there is crazy.

“The track is very complicated, very difficult, very low grip. It’s very difficult to get right. Qualifying is always very intense and easy to make a mistake, so we need to be on top of all that and really try to maximise all that.

“Yes, the last few races have been very good, but that’s not a guarantee that it’s going to be good here, so we have to wait and see what we can do.”