Verstappen says 2025 is the best he’s driven but admits he ‘hated this car at times’

Max Verstappen has labelled the 2025 season the best he’s driven in his career, despite missing out on his fifth World Championship by just two points to McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Eventual Teams’ Champions McLaren pulled away from their rivals in the first half of the season, with Verstappen only winning two races as Red Bull faced a host of issues with the car that prevented them from maximising their performance.

However, a mighty comeback saw the Dutchman overcome a deficit of 104 points by winning five out of eight Grands Prix before the finale in Abu Dhabi, leaving him 12 points behind Norris heading to Yas Marina.

He needed Norris to finish outside of the podium positions in order to be in with a shot of winning the title – but with Norris taking third place, Verstappen's flawless victory wasn’t enough, as he ended the year on 421 points to Norris’ 423.

Asked whether, discounting the outcome, he believed this season featured the best performance of his 11 years in the sport, Verstappen replied: “Yeah, I think so. I mean, I have no regrets about my season.

“I think the performance has been strong. I've hated this car at times, but I've also loved it at times. And I always tried to extract the most from it, even in the difficult weekends that we’ve had.

“It's been, like I said before, a proper rollercoaster with the car. Luckily, the last, I would say, eight, nine rounds in general have been a lot more enjoyable.

“Also, in the team, we have a great atmosphere at the moment. We’re really on a roll – positive energy, belief, confidence – and that’s exactly what you want heading into next year.”