Despite a few highlights, Max Verstappen doesn’t believe that the 2025 season will be a special year for him – but he doesn’t see this as a shift in priorities
Will the new flexi-wing rules suddenly change everything in Formula 1 from Barcelona onwards? World champion Max Verstappen can’t “really” imagine that: “It will probably change the handling of the car a little bit, but for us, not much will change,” explains the Dutchman, who doesn’t expect “any significant gains or losses in time between the teams.”
Verstappen is particularly relaxed about his Red Bull team: “These wings never really gave us a huge performance advantage. Maybe we didn’t use them optimally or misunderstood them. But even for other teams: if you have a good car, you have a good car. The front wing bends a little less now, but you can compensate for that in the setup.”
But aside from the flexiwing issue, what are his expectations for Barcelona? After all, he won on a similar type of track in Imola before heading to the narrow Monte Carlo circuit, where Verstappen missed out on the podium: “Imola was very positive, of course, but I don’t know if we can repeat that so easily,” said last year’s winner in Spain. He couldn’t answer “whether Imola was simply a particularly strong performance from us – or perhaps a slightly weaker one from McLaren.”
Red Bull needs fast corners – and “hates” city circuits
Verstappen doesn’t want to go so far as to say that Barcelona will now be indicative of how the rest of the world championship will pan out due to the characteristics of the track: “I know that our car isn’t particularly good in slow corners and on city circuits, and that won’t change after Barcelona. I don’t think you can say, ‘This is where the championship will be decided.’ It’s not that simple.”
Looking back on Monaco, however, the Dutchman adds: “In terms of the car, we all hate city circuits – tracks with fast corners suit us better, because you don’t have to worry so much about the kerbs.” The RB21 is “pretty strong” in fast sections, according to Verstappen, who hopes that the team will soon be able to catch up in the medium-speed and slow sections as well: “The two races we won were on fast tracks – that shows where our strength lies.”
However, he believes that Red Bull’s difficulties are “quite similar” to last year, “but every year brings new challenges: the tires change, the car changes. There are always positive things that remain and negative things that you want to get rid of. It’s a constant process,” explains Verstappen.
Verstappen on the World Championship: “It doesn’t feel like a fight.”
Perhaps that is why the current season and the battle with McLaren do not particularly stand out for Verstappen: “To be honest, it doesn’t feel like a fight to me. I’m just trying to do my best and have a little fun. In any case, this season will not be remembered forever,” he says, making it clear that he enjoyed his dominance in previous years more.
Because: “I’m most motivated when I know we’re really fast – that’s the most exciting thing. Of course, I always give my best. There have been some real highlights this year, but also setbacks,” admits Verstappen: “In some races we were way behind, which isn’t fun.” That doesn’t mean his fighting spirit is disappearing, though: “But that doesn’t mean I enjoy it or particularly love it. I like it, but it’s not something that will stay in my memory forever.“
The fact that he is still only 25 points behind the leader in the World Championship does not strengthen his belief that he can defend his title: ”It’s not about whether I believe or not. I go out on the track and give my best every weekend. I don’t need firm belief for that.” Verstappen’s calculation is much simpler: “If the car is only good enough for fifth place, then I’ll take fifth place. If it’s good enough to win, then I’ll win. I keep it very simple.”
The positive side effect of this is that “it doesn’t take much energy, so I have a lot of free time off the track.” As a new father, he needs that time right now, although Verstappen emphasizes that this doesn’t make sport any less important to him: “No, that’s completely separate from Formula 1,” the world champion assures us: “What happens on the track doesn’t affect how I feel in my private life.”