VERSTAPPEN: “This is my best season. But sometimes I hated that car.”

Max Verstappen said the 2025 season was the best of his career, despite losing just two points to McLaren driver Lando Norris in the fight for his fifth championship.

While McLaren took a comfortable lead in the first half of the season, Verstappen could only manage two wins due to numerous problems with the Red Bull car, preventing the team from realizing its potential.

However, in the second half of the championship, the Dutch player made an impressive comeback. Before the Abu Dhabi finale, he had won five of the last eight Grands Prix to close a 104-point gap and was only 12 points behind Norris heading into the final round.

Norris had to finish outside the podium for Verstappen to win the title. However, the McLaren driver took third place and even Max’s flawless victory in Abu Dhabi did not allow him to become champion; He finished the season with 421 points to Norris’ 423 points.

When asked if he considers the 2025 season to be his strongest in his 11 years in Formula 1, regardless of the final result, Verstappen answered in the affirmative:

“Yes, I think so. I have no regrets about this season.
The performances were very strong. Sometimes I hated this car, sometimes I loved it, but I always tried to get the most out of it, even on the hardest weekends.

It was a real roller-coaster ride by car. Fortunately, the last, say eight or nine stages have become much more enjoyable overall.

Also, there is a great atmosphere in the team right now. We are on a positive wave; There is energy, belief and trust. “I want to enter the next season in this mood.”