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Following Max Verstappen's lowly ninth-place finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull's Helmut Marko claimed a fourth straight title defence was "impossible" for the Dutchman.

The two points Verstappen hauled for P9 moved him onto 187 points for the season, but with Oscar Piastri finishing second and earning 18 points, the Australian pulled out another 16 points over the reigning champion.

It means heading into F1's summer break, Verstappen finds himself 97 points behind Piastri and 88 points behind second-placed Lando Norris.

There are a total of 274 points left on the table once the season resumes at Zandvoort, giving Verstappen 177 points to play with before he is mathematically out of title contention.

But given the huge changes coming to F1 for 2026, it is unlikely Red Bull will introduce any more significant upgrades at the risk of damaging the RB22 of '26.

Verstappen has only won two races this season and has scored just one podium in the last seven - second in Canada - as his four-year reign looks to be coming to an end.

But do you agree with Marko that Verstappen's position is "impossible?"

Simply let us know what you think in the comments and by voting in the poll below!

Also interesting:

Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back on last weekend's F1 Hungarian Grand Prix! McLaren's interesting control over its drivers is discussed, as is the current struggle being endured by Lewis Hamilton.

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