Verstappen indicates that the hopes tied to the title have now been 'cleared.'

      "We don’t need to discuss the championship anymore."

      Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri's chances for the championship are precariously low following a troubling weekend in Brazil, with Lando Norris emerging as the unexpected frontrunner for the 2025 drivers' title. After the main qualifying session at Interlagos on Saturday, Verstappen will start Sunday’s race no higher than P16, while McLaren's Norris leads the standings by nine points over teammate Piastri and is now 39 points ahead of Verstappen.

      When asked by Viaplay’s Chiel van Koldenhoven about what went wrong after a slow start to the weekend, Verstappen said, "If I knew, we’d fix it. I could elaborate for another ten minutes, but it simply isn't working." Despite Red Bull implementing significant setup changes after struggling during the sprint, the situation deteriorated further. The team is now considering having Verstappen start from the pitlane to facilitate even more extensive changes, including a new power unit.

      "Not necessarily," Verstappen replied when questioned if he wanted that option, then cut short his media availability, saying, "Nice and short," as he walked away. Later, the four-time world champion acknowledged that the title is effectively lost. "We don’t need to talk about the championship anymore - that's evident," he stated. "Everything was going our way for a while, while McLaren experienced some issues. That may have misled some people into thinking we had a chance. However, it had to be flawless after Mexico, and this is far from it. It’s over," the Dutch driver asserted, emphasizing that he is trying to keep his emotions "very neutral."

      Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko confirmed that the changes made to the team's setup had backfired significantly. "Before, we were only occasionally slow - now it’s constant," he noted at Interlagos. "Previously, we lost time only in sector 2; now it’s everywhere. It felt like we were cursed. The drivers experienced zero grip. These tyres are a mystery."

      Marko admitted that the team is currently "searching for answers." "We introduced new parts in Mexico that didn’t produce the expected results. We thought we were heading in the right direction, but that hasn’t been the case. We need to assess where we veered off course." He also mentioned that Red Bull had hoped Piastri might at least hinder Norris’s newfound momentum. "We’d prefer if Oscar could take some points off Lando. Otherwise, the gap will widen too much. But unfortunately, Piastri himself is on a downturn."

      Indeed, the Australian’s streak of disappointing weekends continued when he crashed out of the sprint, losing control on the wet curb at the exit of Senna-S, just moments before Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto encountered similar issues. George Russell humorously remarked afterwards that it was Norris who sprayed the wet puddle that triggered the chaos, comparing it to "Mario Kart when you throw the banana out. The smartest guy on the grid, this guy!"