Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Two points were the difference between Max Verstappen and becoming just the second driver in Formula 1 history to win five consecutive drivers’ championships.
The Dutchman reached the podium in every race after the summer break, making use of the upgrades Red Bull placed on the RB21, but still fell short.
Verstappen so nearly completed the greatest comeback in history, and managed to turn his year around in a matter of months. From 104 points behind, no one quite expected him to do what he did.
Focus is on the 2026 F1 regulations now, where he’ll hope that his team can produce a competitive engine in their first campaign supplying themselves.
Give Max Verstappen’s 2025 Formula 1 season a rating out of 10
Is there anything he could have done better this year?
Supposedly, Verstappen ‘would not hesitate’ to join Aston Martin in a blockbuster move for 2027 if he doesn’t have a car capable of winning next year.
In response, Laurent Mekies ‘will be on the telephone to Charles Leclerc’, which would completely transform the outlook of the grid over the coming seasons.
READ MORE: Second Max Verstappen ally just told Red Bull he won’t attend any 2026 races amid Helmut Marko exit
Max Verstappen joked that Oscar Piastri would have won a 10-race Formula 1 season in 2025
Nico Rosberg thinks Verstappen will be ‘impatient’ in 2026 and look to move quite quickly if he realises that winning will be very difficult.
There’s no doubting that it would be a difficult move for him, since he has been with them his entire career, but it may have to happen.
Otherwise, it could end up being a waste of some of his very best years. No one wants to see that.
In Abu Dhabi, he joked with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri that he would’ve been champion if the season were 10 races long, which wasn’t picked up by the microphones.
What was the main reason for Oscar Piastri’s collapse?
Motorsport.com’s Ronald Vording revealed the exchange, which left the Aussie thanking his rival afterwards.
“There was an amusing, but also quite telling moment, where Oscar got the question, ‘What has been the main difference between this title fight and the ones in the junior formulas?’ He said, well, ‘The ones in the junior series only had 10 race weekends. This one had 24.’
“Then Max Verstappen tapped him on the shoulder and said, without using the microphone, but you could hear it in the room, he said, ‘Yeah, if this would’ve been 10 races, you would’ve been world champion!’ Then Oscar said, ‘Yeah, thanks for reminding me.'”
How could Max Verstappen escape Red Bull in 2026?
Verstappen has a Red Bull exit clause and two teams on his radar, who would find a way to create some space for him if he were to pull the trigger and leave the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Mercedes showed a clear interest in him this summer, but eventually wound up sticking with George Russell when they realised that a move wouldn’t happen for 2026.
Pursuing Verstappen was ‘destabilising’ for Russell, and something which his team boss, Toto Wolff, later admitted was a mistake.
The two don’t like each other too much, so seeing one replace the other would hit the headlines. It would’ve left the Briton in particular in a tough place, with few seats left on the grid at the time.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
