Marko calls Austrian GP 'black day' with title hopes over

Jun.30 (GMM)  Max Verstappen's 2025 title ambitions may have finally hit a dead end, according to his own Red Bull team.

The defending champion was knocked out on the opening lap of his home race at the Red Bull Ring, taken out by Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli — a driver Verstappen has openly praised in the past.

"It can happen," Verstappen said after the incident, which leaves him trailing the championship lead by a daunting 61 points. "Every driver has made a mistake like that.

"It's no big deal for me."

Had he still been in the hunt for the title, Verstappen's reaction might have been less calm. When asked if his championship chances were now gone, he responded bluntly: "I hope I won't get any more questions like this in the future."

Antonelli, just 18, offered multiple apologies for the collision. "I get along very well with him," Verstappen noted. "No one does these things on purpose."

As for the outcome of the race itself, Verstappen was indifferent. "To be honest," he said, "I was watching the Spa 24 hours."

Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko wasn’t so composed.

"This is a very black day," said the 82-year-old. "The deficit is almost impossible to make up without something extraordinary happening.

"We have to assume that the world championship is over."

Team principal Christian Horner echoed that sentiment, acknowledging Red Bull had been comprehensively outpaced.

"It looks like a battle between Oscar and Lando," he admitted. "The way they fought against each other shows how much of a buffer they have over the others."

Even Oscar Piastri seemed surprised by McLaren’s dominance in Austria. "I'm not ruling out Max yet," the Australian said, "but our pace this weekend was very good.

"If we can maintain that, it will be easier for us," he told Viaplay.

Red Bull is expected to bring its final upgrade of the season to Silverstone — but expectations are tempered.

"Probably not," Verstappen said when asked if the new package could close the gap to McLaren.

"I don't want to sound depressed, because I know everyone in the team is giving 100 percent. We can't do more than try.

"We are normally a bit stronger in the really fast corners," he added. "But McLaren's speed is just ridiculous. I'm not going to say that we can beat them."]]>