F1 2025 recap: Max Verstappen's best season despite no title

Max Verstappen delivered the best season in his Formula 1 career to date, despite his streak of four, consecutive world titles coming to an end. That is not only the viewpoint of this writer and the majority of readers, but also the man himself. 

“Yeah I think so,” said Verstappen, when asked after the Abu Dhabi finale if 2025 was his best yet. “I have no regrets of my season. The performance has been strong, I’ve hated this car at times but I’ve also loved it at times and I always try to extract the most of it even in the difficult weekends that we have had.”

It’s been well covered, but to emphasise it again: Verstappen being in the title conversation come the final day was remarkable. That’s because Red Bull started the year completely on the back foot, having produced an unpredictable RB21 that was unstable and lacked balance compared with the rocketship that reigning champions McLaren brought for 2025.

But even in those early rounds when the Woking squad was the dominant force, Verstappen still extracted the most out of his car and claimed a points total that no other driver would have done. His standout moment is obviously that incredible pole lap at Suzuka, as until then Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had been setting the pace before Verstappen stood up when it mattered most to stun the McLaren pair and take the track record.

He held on for victory, his first of the season, before claiming a second win four races later at Imola for round seven. It was there that the four-time world champion won the grand prix by making a daring overtake on poleman Piastri around the outside of the Tamburello chicane - thus earning him the FIA Action of the Year Award. 

Those results, however, still weren’t enough to initially keep Verstappen in the title conversation as McLaren gradually kept getting further and further ahead. The Dutchman also didn’t help himself in Barcelona, seemingly colliding with George Russell on purpose thus earning himself a 10-second penalty that dropped him from fifth to 10th in the result, but that’s just one race in a 24-round calendar. 

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

And there were many other reasons for Verstappen not putting up a title fight to begin with, including in Austria, for example, where he was taken out by Andrea Kimi Antonelli on lap one. These persistent struggles lasted for two-thirds of the season and it was only in round 16 at Monza, where Verstappen arrived with a 104-point deficit to championship leader Piastri, that things started to change thanks to various upgrades, most notably on the floor, to the RB21.

For the final nine rounds, Verstappen had a car that was capable of consistently challenging the McLaren, which meant that fans once again got to see the Verstappen that had romped to four titles - removing any doubts about him being F1’s best driver. Because, quite simply, when given the tools, nobody else could come close. 

The 28-year-old subsequently won five of the next eight grands prix, plus the Austin sprint, to transform his season. He was also helped by the many mistakes over at McLaren, such as Piastri’s horror Baku weekend, the team’s strategy error in Qatar and its double disqualification in Las Vegas - all of which contributed to Verstappen heading into the finale second and just 12 points behind new leader Norris. 

But dominating the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole still wasn’t enough for a fifth world title, as third for Norris gave the 26-year-old his maiden crown. Yet that did not take away from the season Verstappen had, as the final third saw one of the greatest comebacks in F1 history. And if the Dutchman had been successful in his recovery, then it would have gone down as one of the best ever title-winning campaigns.