The Associated Press

Ahead of Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, this Formula 1 season is looking like McLaren vs. McLaren. Still, defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull says he hasn’t lost hope.

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the only ones to consistently have the pace through the first four rounds of the championship.

Norris has a three-point lead but admits he isn’t at his best — though he had the fastest time of the day in practice on Friday — while Piastri has momentum after winning in Bahrain last week.

Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have all had their moments but none has been a consistent challenger, as McLaren’s 58-point constructors’ championship lead shows.

Verstappen is the only non-McLaren driver to win a grand prix this season, but in Bahrain he was struggling so much that Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said he was concerned the Dutch star might reconsider his future.

Verstappen said this week he wasn’t considering the championship picture this early in the season.

“I’m not thinking about that. I just go race by race,” he said. “At the moment we are not the quickest. So then naturally it’s very tough to fight for a championship, but it’s still a very long road … I’m hopeful that we can still improve things.”

Two-time champ Fernando Alonso said it’s “very unlikely” Verstappen could join his Aston Martin team.