Verstappen delivers F1 title opinion after Bahrain blow: 'I hope I can'

Max Verstappen has delivered a surprising verdict on his F1 title hopes this year following the bitter disappointment of his display in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Verstappen will start the Sakhir race from seventh on the grid after fears about Red Bull's performance materialised in the Middle East where Oscar Piastri roared to a comfortable pole for McLaren after dominating the weekend thus far.

Verstappen was nearly six-tenths slower than Piastri, although there was a crumb of comfort as championship leader Lando Norris is only one place ahead of the four-time F1 champion on the grid.

Should Verstappen finish ahead of Norris, he will leapfrog the Briton in the standings. Piastri, though, could assume the top spot if he wins, as expected.

Reflecting on his session in the tricky RB21, Verstappen was downbeat on his championship hopes at this stage of the season, with still 21 races to run of 24.

"They [McLaren] are not my competitors at the moment," Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365. "I am just competing in this championship."

Asked whether he was competing for what would be his fifth successive title, Verstappen replied: "No", before adding, "I hope I can, but it's hard for me to put my finger on that, whether that's possible at all, but we're working on it. 

"We're doing our best and that's all we can do. If you look over the whole season, I don't think we've ever really had a super chance." 

Upgrades to the RB21 are in the pipeline, with a possible target race of Imola in mid-May, but even with the prospect of fresh parts, Verstappen feels they won't make much difference. 

"I don't need to hear how much is coming or how much it's going to matter," he said. "I just want it to come and then we'll see. 

"But we also really just have balance problems. That's two things. Putting more grip on the car and better balance. Those are two things, but I'm not frustrated."