Verstappen admits he may need a bit of 'luck' to haul in rivals in title race / Photo: © AFP
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Verstappen admits he may need a bit of 'luck' to haul in rivals in title race
Max Verstappen said on Thursday that he will need a bit of luck in one of the four remaining Grands Prix this season if he is to catch McLaren's drivers' championship leaders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos, where he is seeking to complete a hat-trick of Brazilian wins, Red Bull's four-time champion said he hopes both Ferrari and Mercedes can help him overhaul McLaren.
"Being faster than them would be nice," he said of Red Bull's main rivals in a three-way scrap for second place in the constructors' championship behind McLaren.
"But first of all, we need to be faster than McLaren from now to the end of the season."
With four Grands Prix remaining, Verstappen is 36 points behind drivers' title race leader Lando Norris of McLaren and 35 adrift of Oscar Piastri, his team-mate.
"We've had some good rounds where the gap came down, but now to the end with four races, it's still a pretty big gap. I need to score a lot more points every weekend, which is not that straightforward," he said.
"If you would give me the 2023 season, with how everything was, and you tell me I'm 36 points behind, with four races to go, I'm like 'yeah, no problem, easy', but this season has been a little bit different.
Verstappen added he might "need a little bit of luck at one round" to haul in the McLarens.
As Verstappen evaluated his challenge, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton revealed he will be racing in a new helmet in the colours of the Brazilian flag and in memory of Ayrton Senna this weekend.
"I remember growing up watching Ayrton and I always wondered what it would be like if Ayrton was in a Ferrari," the Briton told GQ Globo.
"Now, for the first time, you will see a helmet with the Brazilian flag running at Sao Paulo in a Ferrari.
"I hope to make the people here proud as well as Senna and his family. When I'm here, I am always so well received. It's very special for me to come to Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.
After going a record 20 races without a podium finish for Ferrari, Hamilton said it was not totally unexpected and he was anticipating a very different season in 2026.
G.Schulte--BTB