McLaren suspicious of change Red Bull made to Max Verstappen’s car at the Brazilian Grand Prix

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull might have surprised themselves with a terrific Brazilian Grand Prix comeback at the hands of Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman refused to go down without a fight in Sao Paulo, recovering from a pit lane start to finish on the podium. Unfortunately, the gap in the drivers’ championship to Lando Norris has increased, and any hope of fighting for top honours now looks incredibly slim.

Red Bull opted to change Verstappen’s power unit and setup overnight after a disastrous Q1 elimination on Saturday. On Sunday, he looked like a new driver, and without an unfortunate early puncture, he might have challenged for more than third.

Kimi Antonelli used ‘dirty air’ against Verstappen, and another lap might have allowed the Dutchman to have a real crack at second place. Lando Norris was ‘pretty disappointed’ at Verstappen and how he managed to be faster than him, despite winning in Sao Paulo.

READ MORE: Jenson Button finds what ‘almost everyone’ is now saying about Max Verstappen ‘funny’

McLaren suspicious of Red Bull budget cap after Max Verstappen’s Brazilian Grand Prix engine change

Verstappen agrees that his 2025 title hopes are over, and that recovering from a 49-point deficit within three races is impossible. He would have to rely heavily on factors outside of his control, such as a retirement for Norris.

Throughout the season, Verstappen has ‘exploited’ the FIA’s guidelines and knows best how to get an advantage over his rivals. In Sao Paulo, he managed to do so again, changing his power unit for Sunday and giving himself a fresh engine for the rest of the season.

According to Ronald Vording, it would end up improving his feeling in the car, as well as giving him slightly more power. But, he insists that McLaren’s Andrea Stella wants to ‘check’ whether it pushes Red Bull into an awkward budget cap situation.

“The first reason is that we don’t want to give up a position on the grid,” he said. “Well, Red Bull could do that without too much trouble after yesterday [Saturday].

“But the second reason is that Stella said, ‘Yes, we’re not doing that because of the budget ceiling.’ And he wants to check whether or not that falls under the budget ceiling at Red Bull.

“Well, anyway, that new engine gave Max a bit less vibration, which also improved the feeling in the car, of course. That pressure, those three things combined, led to a considerably better day.”

READ MORE: Max Verstappen shares the biggest reason McLaren have outclassed Red Bull in 2025

What Max Verstappen needs to do to be in contention for the 2025 F1 title

To be in contention at the season finale, Verstappen needs to be within 25 points of Norris and Piastri, since it isn’t a sprint weekend.

The next two rounds are a tale of two halves, with Vegas leaning in Red Bull’s favour, and Qatar in McLaren’s.

Verstappen needs to outgain Norris by 12 points at each event (Qatar is a sprint), which means he’s hoping for him to miss the podium at both Grands Prix. On current form, that’s very unlikely.

But it isn’t impossible. Sebastian Vettel’s favourite to win is Norris, but Oscar Piastri cannot be forgotten about.