Max Verstappen may have fallen agonisingly short of the 2025 Formula 1 world championship, but the Dutchman walked away from Yas Marina on Sunday with his head held high – and with a deep sense of pride in Red Bull’s ferocious late-season revival.
When Verstappen slumped 104 points behind Lando Norris after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, even the bravest optimists thought the title fight was over.
But Red Bull didn’t blink. The Dutchman and his team ignited one of the most dramatic turnarounds in modern F1, winning five of the eight races between Monza and Qatar and slashing McLaren’s once-mighty advantage.
By the time the season reached Abu Dhabi, the gap to Norris was down to just 12 points – a margin slim enough to make the finale a genuine showdown. And Verstappen delivered a champion’s performance: pole position, control from the front, and a commanding victory under the floodlights.
But with Norris clinging to the podium spot he needed, the fairytale comeback ended just two points short.
Asked about the heartbreak of missing out, Verstappen said: “I feel good. I was already prepared for these kind of outcomes, because we needed a bit of luck to win.
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“From our side, at least we optimised the weekend perfectly – we put it on pole, we won the race in I think dominant fashion, so there is nothing really that you can say about that.
“At the end of course, then you lose the championship by two points [and it] looks painful, but on the other hand, if you look from where we were in Zandvoort, more than 100 behind, then I think it’s not too bad.”
Pride in the Fight
For Verstappen, the real story of the season wasn’t the final standings – it was the refusal to give up when the numbers said he should.
“I’m very proud of the whole team. We could have also very easily given up at that point, when you’re that far behind,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s how this team works. We always try to look for improvements and understand our issues, and that’s definitely what we did. The turnaround has been fun, and today has been fun.
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“We didn’t win the championship, okay, that happens, that’s life, and it’s not something that I’ll be too sad about. I mean, life goes on.
“I’m just very proud of the people I work with, they are my second family, and we will enjoy this moment. We will enjoy the second half of the season, be proud of that, and next year is going to be a big question mark for everyone anyway.”
On a night when the world title eluded him, Verstappen still won something else: the satisfaction of a season rescued by grit, brilliance and belief.
And if his warning about next year being a “big question mark” for the whole grid is anything to go by, the fight has only just begun.
Abu Dhabi GP: Verstappen wins – Norris crowned World Champion!
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