Max Verstappen declared still in the F1 title fight: 'Nothing is impossible'

Naomi Schiff believes Max Verstappen remains a genuine contender for the F1 drivers' championship, despite sitting 110 points behind standings leader Kimi Antonelli heading into his home race at Zandvoort.

The racing driver-turned pundit pointed to last season as evidence that no deficit is insurmountable, when the Red Bull driver trailed Oscar Piastri by 104 points after the Dutch Grand Prix only to close the gap to just two points by the end of the campaign, ultimately losing out on a fifth consecutive title to Lando Norris in the other McLaren.

The gap is sizeable, but Schiff argued that Verstappen and Red Bull have already shown how quickly momentum can swing across the second half of a Formula 1 season.

"He's not out of it yet," she stated on Sky Sports F1. "We look at the numbers, and you think he's quite far down...

"But this time last year here at Zandvoort, he was over 100 points behind, and he managed to close that down to just two points. So nothing is impossible."

There is reason for optimism in Milton Keynes, as Red Bull has made tangible progress with the RB22, with Verstappen delivering three podiums in the four rounds before the summer break, including second-place finishes in both Austria and Hungary, and a third at Spa-Francorchamps.

The only blemish in that run came at Silverstone, where Verstappen retired from a podium position after the second of his well-documented rear wing failures sent him into the gravel at Stowe with just four laps remaining.

Without that mechanical issue, it would have been a clean sweep of four podiums from four rounds, a stark contrast to the early-season struggles that left Red Bull sixth in the constructors' standings after the Japanese Grand Prix.

Verstappen's commitment to the project was underlined on Thursday when Red Bull announced a contract extension keeping the four-time F1 drivers' champion at the team until the end of 2030, putting to bed any lingering speculation about his future.

When asked how much the stability and support of staying at a 'family' like Red Bull matters to Verstappen, Schiff played down its significance.

"I think that probably really depends on the driver," she said. "When we're thinking of a driver like Max, it's probably less important for him.

"The number one thing is performance, and he doesn't want to be filling numbers on the grid. He wants to be fighting for more world titles, and it hasn't all been great this season. But it's also not been all bad.

"He finished second last time out, so he was on the podium. He's been on the podium on multiple occasions, and so they are creeping their way back into the battle."