From one perspective, the mathematics of Max Verstappen’s 2025 Formula 1 season are depressing.
On the one hand, he made a remarkable recovery, going from 104 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri with nine grands prix remaining to finishing the season just two points adrift of newly crowned world champion Lando Norris.
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Verstappen, on the other hand, lost at least nine points at the Spanish Grand Prix after clashing with George Russell at Turn 1, with the Dutchman furious after being asked by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to let the Mercedes pass after cutting into Turn 2.
Verstappen started to slow down but immediately hit Russell at Turn 5 and received a 10-second penalty, dropping him from fifth to tenth. That was a nine-point loss.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes
Immediately after the Barcelona race, the Red Bull driver appeared dismissive and refused questions about the incident. “Does it matter?” he retorted. He was more open about it last month, admitting a “mistake” on Dutch TV channel Viaplay.
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But given the potentially decisive impact on the title race, he was always going to be grilled at the post-match press conference in Abu Dhabi – and The GuardianGiles Richards asks a bold question.
“Max, you only lost to Lando by two points,” Richards said. “How do you feel about the George Russell incident in Spain now? Looking back, do you regret it?”
“You forget everything else that’s happened to me this season,” Verstappen replied, growing increasingly annoyed as he continued. “The only thing you mentioned was Barcelona. I knew that was coming. You’re smirking at me now. I don’t know. Yes, it’s part of the final game. You live and learn. The title is one of 24. I got a lot of early Christmas presents in the second half too, so you can question that too.”
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Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
There is no doubt that McLaren has wasted a lot of points this season and, most importantly, no one can say that this particular incident cost Verstappen the title. The butterfly effect meant that had the Red Bull driver not hit Russell, the rest of the season would almost certainly have had a different outcome, but no one can say exactly.
But Verstappen’s attitude – stemming in part from his treatment of the British press relative to Dutch journalists – contrasted sharply with that of a driver who lost his world title.
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Also read:
Lando Norris proud to ‘win F1 title my way’ without being pushy
Lando Norris has always been self-critical—extremely self-critical, sometimes tantamount to self-abuse. He wasn’t the only one with this philosophy, Charles Leclerc was also obsessed with it.
Even after winning the championship, Norris was very aware that his season was far from perfect.
“If I look back, my first half of the season – it wasn’t the most impressive,” the Englishman commented. “Of course, sometimes I make some mistakes and make some bad judgments. I make mistakes and I’m sure every driver will admit that.”
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Will Verstappen do it? One can only admire his confidence. It’s part of his ruthlessness. But will he really learn from the unnecessary mistakes he made at Barcelona? He swore in Dutch but provoked in English. Only time will tell.
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