With a 110-point deficit to Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen seems far from the world title. Yet Naomi Schiff refuses to rule out the Red Bull driver.
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Can Max Verstappen still believe in the 2026 world title? As the Red Bull driver approaches his home Grand Prix with 110 points behind Kimi Antonelli, the task seems particularly difficult. But for Naomi Schiff, nothing yet definitively rules out the four-time world champion.
The Sky Sports F1 consultant notably relies on the spectacular comeback made by Verstappen last season. After the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, the Dutchman was 104 points behind Oscar Piastri.
He had, however, come back to just two points from the lead before the end of the season, even though it was ultimately Lando Norris who won the championship.
“He is not out of the race yet,” Schiff believes. “When you look at the numbers, you might think he is quite far behind…”
“Nothing is impossible” for Verstappen
For Schiff, the example of 2025 shows how quickly the hierarchy can change during the second half of a season.
“Last year, here at Zandvoort, he was more than 100 points behind and he managed to reduce that gap to just two points. So nothing is impossible.”
However, the situation remains different this year. Verstappen must not only make up a considerable deficit: he also needs to count on a drop in form from Antonelli and a sufficiently significant improvement from Red Bull to allow him to regularly fight for wins.
On this last point, the recent races before the summer break have given some reasons for hope.
Red Bull is gradually returning to the front
The RB22 showed significant progress before the break. Verstappen secured three podiums in the last four Grands Prix, finishing second in Austria and Hungary as well as third at Spa-Francorchamps.
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At Silverstone, he was also in a position to aim for the podium before a rear wing failure caused his off-track at Stowe four laps from the finish.
Without this mechanical retirement, Verstappen could have chained four consecutive podiums. A notable development after a particularly difficult start to the championship for Red Bull.
“He finished second in the last race, so he was on the podium. He has been on it several times and they are gradually coming back into the fight,” Schiff points out.
Performance above all for Verstappen
This improvement comes as Verstappen has just ended speculation surrounding his future. Red Bull announced this week the extension of his contract until the end of the 2030 season.
For Naomi Schiff, the family dimension often mentioned by Verstappen to describe his relationship with Red Bull remains secondary compared to one essential element: having a car capable of winning.
“I think it really depends on the driver. For someone like Max, it’s probably less important,” she believes.
“The absolute priority is performance. He doesn’t just want to be there to fill the grid. He wants to fight for more world titles.”
With 110 points to make up on Antonelli, Verstappen still faces an extremely difficult mission. But after already making a spectacular comeback in 2025 and given Red Bull’s recent progress, Schiff still refuses to consider the battle definitively lost.
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