BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Max Verstappen is still a threat to McLaren's drivers in the Formula 1 championship this year, according to Andrea Stella, who is so worried about it that he said he would write it out in capital letters.
Amid the mayhem in Baku's electric qualifying session, Verstappen claimed pole position.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri had crashed out in Q3 before Lando Norris had bumped along the wall on his crucial lap -- they start ninth and seventh, respectively.
Verstappen, who won the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago, is a massive 94 points behind Piastri in the championship and 63 behind Norris with eight races left, but Stella thinks he is now the man to beat week to week.
"[Red Bull] have taken a new floor to Monza," Verstappen said. "They might be setting up their car slightly differently. We hear now Verstappen talking about grounding much more than it was doing before.
"So they might have unlocked performance, and I would not be surprised at all that Red Bull continues the streak that they have started. Pole position in Monza, victory, pole position here, Red Bull are a very serious contender to win races and a very serious contender for the drivers' championship."
When asked whether he was serious about the final part of that quote, Stella emphatically replied: ""A firm yes. Can you write it in capitals? Because it was quoted in capitals."
Remarkably, given the dominance of McLaren this year, Verstappen's effort on Saturday means his six pole positions in 2025 is more than any other driver has achieved.
But even for a driver as good as Verstappen, the points gap does seem insurmountable with the races left to run.
For context, a driver gets 25 points for a victory, meaning the Dutchman is almost four whole race wins behind Piastri -- and that's also race wins where the Australian failed to get any points.
Stella suggested McLaren is legitimately worried because their drivers are likely to be taking points off each other in the run to the end of the year.
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"Of course, of course," Stella said when asked if he was serious.
"We don't have to forget that first of all he's Max Verstappen -- world champion for the last four years -- in a fast car. Like I said before, there are races where McLaren may not enjoy any advantage from a competitiveness point of view.
"And Lando and Oscar are always there, so they won't necessarily be maximising the points available. Sometimes it will be a little bit more points for Lando and a little bit more for Oscar, so they may take some points away from each other. We are very aware of this aspect, but we let them race because they both deserve to pursue their aspirations. Therefore, yes, Verstappen and Red Bull in contention for the drivers' championship."