2025 F1 recap: Max vs McLaren

Mustafa Imran, Contributor 

For the first time in several years, Max Verstappen entered a Formula One season not as the overwhelming favorite for the World Drivers’ Championship, but he was still the man every rival wanted to beat. The leading contenders for his throne were the McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and even though the Papayas comfortably won the Constructors’ Championship, Verstappen made the WDC a legendary fight that ended on the final lap of the final race of the final season of the ground-effect era. 

Early season frustrations

The season began in Australia. On a rainy day in Melbourne on March 16, Verstappen finished second, narrowly missing out on victory in a race where front-runners made mistakes. The early signs were clear, while the Red Bull RB21 remained fast, its dominance had been blunted. 

Just a week later, in Shanghai, China, on March 23, Verstappen struggled with tire degradation and balance issues, finishing fourth, which exposed the team’s setup vulnerabilities. 

Relief came in Japan on April 6 at Suzuka. On a circuit that historically suits his driving style, Verstappen delivered a masterful lap in qualifying, leading to a pole-to-flag victory and kick-starting his title defense. Also, highlighting when in the setup window, the RB21 is still race-winning. 

After a frustrating sixth-place finish in Bahrain on April 13 due to pit stop errors, Verstappen lashed out on track, receiving a 10-second penalty for a pitlane collision during the Miami Sprint Race the following week. 

Then, at the next race in Saudi Arabia, Max lightly collided with Oscar Piastri’s McLaren on the first lap of the first turn. Still, he recovered and secured second place, relinquishing the race victory to Piastri and reminding fans that he was human, succumbing to emotion in that high-pressure moment.

Finding form and fighting back

Verstappen and Red Bull rediscovered their rhythm at Imola during the team’s 400th Grand Prix. The Dutchman dominated, taking his second win of the season in front of jubilant fans. But just as quickly as momentum built, it faltered again.

At the Spanish Grand Prix, his beef with Mercedes driver George Russell reached its boiling point. After a myriad of strategic and communicative errors from his race management crew, Verstappen forced his way into the side of Russell’s car in visible frustration late in the race, leading to a 10-second time penalty that caused him to finish 10th. 

Verstappen swept that under the rug with a second-place finish at the next race in Canada, reflecting the campaign’s inconsistency. 

Then came Austria. After colliding on lap one with rookie Kimi Antonelli, Verstappen suffered his first DNF of the season and showed a rare moment of vulnerability at his team’s home track and one of his strongest historically.

From there, Verstappen focused on damage limitation. Despite starting on pole in Britain, more tire strategy issues plagued his race, and once again, Verstappen reacted outwardly, spinning his car during a mid-race safety car restart and crossing the line in fifth place. Rain delayed the next race in Belgium, where Verstappen finished fourth, and a bad qualifying lap in Hungary put him on the back foot, leading to a disappointing ninth-place finish.

Max Verstappen has always had a reputation for being
fast, but the 2025 F1 season put him into legendary
company—even without a WDC victory. Photo courtesy
of Instagram/@redbullracing

Late-season surge

After the summer break, Red Bull brought a massive upgrade to Verstappen’s RB21, helping him claim a second-place finish at his home race in Zandvoort, Netherlands, amid an electric atmosphere, reigniting both his confidence and title hopes.

Verstappen then marched into Monza, Italy, set the fastest qualifying lap by measure of average speed, and claimed his third win of the season. The performance was a reminder that his raw speed remained unmatched at the fastest track on the calendar.

Two weeks later, he triumphed again in Azerbaijan, converting pole into victory on the unforgiving streets of Baku, putting him squarely back into the championship conversation just as the McLarens began crumbling under pressure.

In the heat of Singapore on Oct. 5, Verstappen narrowly missed out on three race wins in a row, finishing second after a late-race safety car reshuffled the order. He rebounded at the next race in Austin, TX, delivering a commanding drive to secure his fifth win of the season while winning the sprint race as well. 

At the next race in Mexico, Verstappen failed to overtake Leclerc in a heated late-race battle, crossing the line in third place as the season entered its closing stages.

The final stretch

Then came Brazil. For the São Paulo Grand Prix on Nov. 9, Verstappen faced his most remarkable weekend of the year. Starting from the pit lane after a poor qualifying, he suffered from an early puncture, putting him even further behind the back of the pack. Nevertheless, the Flying Dutchman dropped his sails and sped past the rest of the field, methodically making his way to a third-place finish.

Sin City came next, and many were asking if McLaren could break their Vegas curse. Early in the weekend, it looked like the Papayas finally found their groove, with Norris qualifying to take pole position, but the Briton lost his lead at turn one on the first lap. From there, Verstappen controlled the race and went on to win, and combined with an eventual double-disqualification for McLaren, the Dutchman sat just 24 points behind the lead for World Drivers’ Champion.

At the next race in Qatar, Verstappen qualified third but didn’t waste much time moving into second place. He took advantage of an early safety-car pit stop and used a clever counter-strategy, allowing him to hold favourable track position and win the race, closing the gap to just 12 points in the WDC. All Verstappen needed was to win and for Lando to finish outside of the podium, and he would accomplish arguably the greatest late-season comeback in the sport’s history. 

The Dutchman led almost the entire race and won it convincingly, but his parade didn’t last very long as Lando Norris scraped his way to a WDC victory, finishing in P3 and claiming the title. In the end, Verstappen only lost by three points, and even though it wasn’t the comeback of all comebacks, fans and media members agreed it was one hell of a fight. Verstappen’s final second-place finish in the WDC was about more than winning and losing – it underscored his resilience and refusal to surrender, and reminded the world that even when the odds were against him, his raw talent at the wheel and mental fortitude would give him a chance in any race during any season. The 2025-26 Formula One season was a reminder that the World Drivers’ Championship runs through the Flying Dutchman, and will continue to until he hangs up the wheel.