Max Verstappen claimed his fourth World Championship in impressive fashion last year, beating Lando Norris to the crown. Reflecting on his campaign, Verstappen explains why he has no regrets about his controversial incidents with Norris.
Verstappen: “Not everyone has that mentality”
Perhaps the first sign that Verstappen and Norris were truly in a title race was at the Austrian GP.
Following several laps of near-misses, the two Championship protagonists made contract in the final laps of the race.
Damage from the collision forced Norris to retire, whilst Verstappen lost places after making a pit-stop. He also received a 10-second penalty from the stewards.
Still, this incident was a net gain for the Red Bull driver, who left Spielberg with an additional 10 points over the British driver.
Other collisions, such as Verstappen’s audacious moves in Mexico, would characterise a tense battle for the 2024 Championships.
Having ultimately triumphed, Max Verstappen was candid about his approach:
“I will always go to the limit to get the most out of every race,” he told Viaplay at the end of 2024.
“If I have to force it, then that’s just how it goes. Sometimes you have to cross a line…
“I will always do everything to get the maximum result for a championship.
“And of course, sometimes you have to go to the limit or over the limit – and not everyone understands that. Not everyone has that mentality.”
2025 could be an even bigger test
Having benefited from a dominant car in 2023, Verstappen proved he could make a difference when other teams were on Red Bull’s tail.
If anything, it was only the Dutchman’s individual brilliance that compensated for a poor season of development at Milton Keynes.
Considering that McLaren were the fastest team from Miami (round 6) onwards, Verstappen’s fourth title is arguably his most impressive.
Despite this, the 27-year-old is not taking anything for granted heading into 2025.
He has already warned that Red Bull cannot allow themselves to encounter the same problems from last year.
With upgrades to the RB20 proving ineffective, Christian Horner’s team fell down the pecking order. This was reflected in the constructors standings, where McLaren and Ferrari ultimately fought for 1st place.
Whilst Lawson’s arrival might be Red Bull’s answer to a poor campaign for Sergio Perez, this does not guarantee their 2025 challenger will be at the required level.
Red Bull’s development under the microscope
Arguably the most concerning development for Red Bull over the last 12 months was their wind tunnel correlation.
For the first time since these regulations were introduced, the Austrian team’s updates did not work as intended.
Some of the inconsistencies that plagued Ferrari, Mercedes and – most infamously – Aston Martin in previous campaigns became a genuine limitation for Max Verstappen’s team.
In this context, there is no margin for error over the winter period. There are now at least four teams with realistic chances of competing for the title.
Even in a best-case scenario for Red Bull, where they managed to find more performance over winter, they will still face stiff competition.
This is where, once again, they will rely on Verstappen to be the difference-maker. The question is to what extent the 4-time Champion’s machinery permits him to fight against the likes of Ferrari and McLaren in 2025.
