Max Verstappen was just two points away from an epic comeback formula 1. The Dutchman achieved his goal of winning Abu Dhabi Grand Prixbut the third location of Lando Norris allowed him to retain the title. Nevertheless, the pilot is from Red Bull He assured that he feels a sense of personal satisfaction greater than after his ordination in 2024. had a tense exchange with a journalist at the press conferencewhere he brought out his temper once again. Furthermore, in the middle of the definition it says: Sergio Czech Perezformer driver of the team, posted a controversial tweet that drew the attention of the paddock to Yas Marina.
In the press conference after the Abu Dhabi GP, Verstappen was asked about the incident George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix, one of the few mistakes he made all season. “What do you think now about the George Russell incident in Spain? Do you regret that? “Would you go back in time and what do you think about that?” the Dutchman was asked. This sparked a disturbing moment: The pilot stared at the journalist and was silent for a few seconds before answering..
“You forget everything else that happened in my season. The only thing you mention is BarcelonaVerstappen said, visibly annoyed. After a pause, he added: “I knew this was coming.”. Then, after another silence, he answered in the affirmative and, noticing the journalist’s reaction, concluded: “Now you’re giving me a stupid smile“.
Finally, he started a reflection in which he also threw a dart at the McLaren drivers who made several mistakes throughout the year: “You live and learn.” It’s part of racing. In the end you live and learn. A championship is won in 24 rounds. I also received many early Christmas presents in the second half of the year (regarding the failures of Norris and Piastri). So you can question that too.”
The season was characterized by the progressive improvement of the car Red Bullwhat allowed Verstappen overcome a disadvantage of more than 100 points Oscar Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix. Since the race in ZandvoortThe Dutchman achieved ten podiums in a row, including six wins, and returned to contention for the title. “We showed it one last time in this course. We can be very proud of that. So don’t get too discouraged. Of course I’m not disappointed. I am very proud of you all. We never give up“, commented Max over the radio as he crossed the finish line.
Although the championship was only lost by two points, Verstappen He emphasized that for much of the year he hadn’t even thought about the possibility of winning: “I’m probably sitting here with a better feeling than I did this time last year, because the second half of last year was also quite complicated at times.” Of course it’s a shame to lose the title, but at the same time I didn’t even think about it for a long time. I never felt capable until a few rounds ago. It’s crazy“.
In this sense, as the specialist portal indicates Motorsportadded: “Sometimes I hated this car, but sometimes I loved it and I always try to get the best out of it, even on the difficult weekends we had. It was, as I said, a real rollercoaster ride in the car, but fortunately the last few laps, I would say eight or nine laps in total, were much more enjoyable. And there’s a great atmosphere in the team right now, we’re on the move, with positive energy, faith, confidence, and that’s exactly what we want for next year.”
The outcome of the championship in Abu Dhabi was accompanied by the strategy he tried to implement Red Bull with Yuki Tsunodawho was given a similar task Sergio Perez fulfilled in the 2021 final when he defended the position against Lewis Hamilton and facilitated the triumph of Verstappen.
On this occasion Czech was described by Max as a “legend”.but in 2025, Tsunoda He only received a five-second penalty for zigzagging on the track. The controversial maneuver also focused on Lando Norris overtook him with all four tires off the tracksomething that is forbidden, even though the race management has decided not to authorize it.
The reaction of Perez The wait didn’t last long. When I saw a meme on social media suggesting that Red Bull had been too hard on him by cutting him from the team after the 2024 season, The Mexican pilot responded with a “maybe” and a laughing emoji. During the race, Red Bull urged Tsunoda to do everything he could to stop Norris, to which the Japanese replied: “I know what to do, leave it to meHowever, Lando quickly got over it.
*The Abu Dhabi GP compact car
When the race was over and Norris’ title was complete, one of the heavyweights at Red Bull was the controversial one Helmut Markomanaging advisor to the team who repeatedly targeted the McLaren drivers throughout the year. “Max and the McLarens dominated the race. Our hope that Ferrari and Mercedes would mix at the top has not been fulfilled. And so the starting point was clear.. “A Red Bull against two strong McLarens was ultimately the decisive factor in the loss of the championship,” he emphasized in an interview Sky Sports Germany.
In this sense he admitted: “We have made our mistakes. But McLaren did it too and we benefited from it. We did everything we could“Despite the disappointment of losing the title, Helmut Marko was satisfied with the performance of the Austrian team in the second half of the year and with Verstappen’s performance.”He had a second half of the season that was almost as strong as ours. And he didn’t make any mistakes. The last one I remember was in Montreal. Mentally he recovered very well and is a deserved world champion. There is nothing to complain about,” he concluded.
The 2025 Formula 1 season ended with McLaren’s victory among both drivers and constructors. In addition, Lando Norris shortened Max Verstappen’s streak of four titles in a row.
About The Author
