Max Verstappen was playing catchup with the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in 2025, ultimately failing to win a fifth Formula 1 Title but admitting he enjoyed some aspects of being the underdog.
Verstappen won four back-to-back titles between 2021 and 2024 until McLaren and Norris ended his dominant streak as Red Bull Racing also failed their driver by delivering a subpar car in the form of the RB21.
Changes within the team midseason resulted in the exit of Christian Horner from the team principal role to be replaced by Laurent Mekies, after which the team started improving as well as the car, which allowed the Dutchman to launch a comeback.
That meant the Title wasn’t decided until the final race in Abu Dhabi, but Verstappen lost out to Norris by two points.
Reflecting on the situation he found himself in last season, Verstappen said: “Honestly, I’ve not changed as a person.
“It’s just that you are in a different role naturally because you’re not winning as many races as we did before. But at the end of the day, for me, it’s more important.
“Did I change? No, I didn’t. So that’s the only thing that I can really say about that,” the Red Bull ace maintained.
Cheers instead of boos?
While a serial winner may not be liked in F1 and depicted as the villain, something Verstappen has experienced in abundance, especially with his hard racing and no bullsh!t approach, he was able to sample the other side in 2025.
He explained: “I guess when you’re a bit of an underdog, probably that happens a bit naturally, but it is nice. It’s nice to have people cheering instead of booing or whatever.
“Sometimes [being the underdog] was enjoyable. The second half was more enjoyable than the first half. But for me, ’23 is still my favorite season.
“It was not boring to me because I was always challenging myself even,” he said of his most dominant season in the top flight. “That’s always the thing.
“People say, like, ‘Yeah, you’re the leader, and you check out,’ but I’m not checking out. I’m still fully focused, and there’s a lot that comes into it to try and have these kinds of results,” Verstappen concluded.
Verstappen is now gearing up for the 2026 F1 season and will be hoping his RB22 with the Red Bull Ford power unit turns out to be a capable machine as he targets a fifth Drivers’ Crown.
(Source: The Fast and The Curious podcast)