Toto Wolff rules Max Verstappen out of F1 title battle

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has ruled Max Verstappen out of this year's F1 title race, despite a spirited comeback in the second half of the season.

The gap that the Dutchman allowed Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to build before the summer break has left him needing perfection from himself and his Red Bull team though, as well as slip-ups from both sides of the McLaren garage.

The Dutchman put on a sensational display in Sao Paulo last Sunday which saw him complete a commanding drive from the pit-lane all the way up to a podium finish in P3.

But his outings earlier on in the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend produced some of the worst results of his career and on Saturday, he suffered his first Q1 exit since Sochi 2021, which was arguably the first time he has ever been ruled out of qualifying in the first stint purely on pace.

When paired with the fact that current championship leader Lando Norris had a near perfect weekend last time out, Verstappen's disastrous start at Interlagos means that he is now 49 points behind Norris, with his title charge taking a significant hit.

How will F1's 2025 championship battle play out?

The Austrian's own driver George Russell is now officially out of championship contention following the Brazilian GP, but the Silver Arrows could still play a part in the title race by taking points off of Norris, Verstappen and Oscar Piastri across the final three rounds of the year.

When turning his attention back to McLaren and how they are handling their competitive driver duo, Wolff added: "I think just let them race, make no contact, but the gap that Lando has now is very, very solid. But he can't afford a DNF either, because then it swings in the other direction.

"Obviously, from a spectator standpoint you would want to see that going into the last race, equal points or similar points, but [Norris] was impressive in the last few races, how he held the nerves and how he scored the points."

READ MORE: F1 2025 Standings: Huge title favorite emerges after chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix

Related