James Hinchcliffe names the 2025 Max Verstappen moment that left him truly ‘shocked’

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Max Verstappen is starting the 2026 Formula 1 season without being the favourite to win the title for the first time in a very long while.

After missing out on the drivers’ championship by a slender margin at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix nearly two months ago, the Dutchman was forced to face defeat.

A poor opening half of the season from Red Bull cost him a fifth straight crown, but it taught him a lot about resilience and digging deep.

It’s a massive testament to Verstappen’s will that he refused to give up against the two dominant McLaren cars, despite being more than 100 points behind at one stage.

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Verstappen used Red Bull’s ‘innovative’ front wing for 2026 at the first test of the year in Barcelona, which turned a few heads.

Current Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies thinks Verstappen has more ‘brainpower’ than his rivals and is backing him to continue his strong form over the next 12 months. He should remain a contender.

READ MORE: Isack Hadjar has just shown why Red Bull made the perfect choice to pair him with Max Verstappen

James Hinchcliffe says Max Verstappen’s reaction to losing the 2025 F1 title left him ‘shocked’

Verstappen ‘shouldn’t’ be able to win in Red Bull’s car, according to current IndyCar champion Alex Palou, who is a seasoned winner himself.

His comeback in the second half of 2025 fell two points shy of being one of the most improbable and heroic of all time.

The way he handled that defeat shocked James Hinchcliffe, who was impressed with Verstappen’s response post-race in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s so funny, man,” he said on the Red Flags podcast. “Just when you think you can’t be anymore impressed with Max Verstappen, first of all, he drives the way he does all season long.

“Go back to race three in Suzuka, and it was like an outrageous performance. To maintain that and not lose hope, I guess, or motivation when it looked like it was all lost mid-season.

“Then to come up short and be able to objectively go back and point out, the one that everybody just loves to draw to is Spain, right? With the points lost there. That could’ve cost him the championship.

“His approach on how he dealt with that loss – it absolutely surprised me. I was just as shocked as you, but it was also super impressive.”

READ MORE: Max Verstappen can now race in Nurburgring 24 Hours thanks to one ‘solution’ being found

How Red Bull have started 2026 F1 pre-season testing well

Red Bull opted to run during each of the first two days of the private pre-season test in Barcelona, and their drivers racked up some solid mileage.

That’s a crucial suggestion that their new engine is reliable enough to compete, and that it gives them a chance to challenge for wins early in the season.

Isack Hadjar was really quick and had been almost perfect until he crashed right at the end of day two. He won’t appear until Bahrain now, having run for one and a half days already.

Verstappen still has a full day of running to look forward to on the other hand, which will be vital as he looks to form a well-rounded picture of where his team stands before the season starts.