Max Verstappen assesses F1 title chances after latest McLaren conquering

Max Verstappen has weighed in on his chances of taking a fifth consecutive F1 title this year following his victory at Imola.

Verstappen drove to his second victory of the season last weekend following an impressive overtake on Oscar Piastri at the opening corner of the race.

While McLaren has largely had the upper hand over Red Bull this year, it had no answer to Verstappen's pace on Sunday.

Verstappen now sits 22 points behind Piastri in the drivers' championship after four rounds as he seeks to match Michael Schumacher's record of five F1 titles in a row.

When asked if he considers himself in the title fight, Verstappen told media including RacingNews365: “I think it's very track-specific. 

“Every time that we have been really competitive, it’s been high-speed tracks, high-speed corners. 

“We still have work to do, but I do think it’s been a very positive weekend for us. Of course, we brought upgrades. I think they worked. Friday was very difficult still, but then I think we found a better set-up for Saturday. 

“I just hope that we can use that a bit more often because it definitely brought the car in a better window. Now, that was here.”

As it looks to continue its race-winning into the remainder of the triple header, Verstappen has suggested Red Bull's form could fluctuate at the Monaco and Barcelona rounds.

“Monaco, I love driving in Monaco, but it’s not been our strongest track with the car that we have,” he said.

“But we’ll see what we can do. And then we go to Barcelona — normally, a lot of high-speed corners, which is great.

“A lot of tyre deg as well, which again will be crucial to master. And I don’t know, of course, how that is going to work for us at the moment. For now just very happy with this weekend, and we just go from there.”