After years of dominating in Formula 1, Max Verstappen found himself in an underdog role during his championship fight in 2025.
His post-summer break surge in performance resulted in him missing out on the drivers’ championship title by just two points to winner Lando Norris.
While he would have rather replicated a season such as 2023, when he won 19 out of the 22 grands prix, Verstappen admitted that it was nice to be met with more fan enthusiasm rather than boos from the crowd.
“Honestly, I’ve not changed as a person,” he said during an appearance on The Fast and The Curiouspodcast.
“It’s just that you are in a different role naturally because you’re not winning as many races as we did before. But at the end of the day, for me, it’s more important. Did I change? No, I didn’t. So that’s the only thing that I can really say about that.”
When asked if he felt more positivity from fans in 2025, the four-time champion added: “Yeah, I guess when you’re a bit of an underdog, probably that happens a bit naturally, but it is nice. It’s nice to have people cheering instead of booing or whatever.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
“Sometimes [being the underdog] was enjoyable. The second half was more enjoyable than the first half. But for me, ’23 is still my favourite season.
“It was not boring to me because I was always challenging myself even. That’s always the thing. People say like, ‘Yeah, you’re the leader and you check out,’ but I’m not checking out. I’m still fully focused and there’s a lot that comes into it to try and have these kinds of results.”
The Dutchman is preparing for his 12th season in F1, which will also introduce a new set of regulations to the championship. Private testing for the 2026 season is currently ongoing in Barcelona before testing in Bahrain from 11-13 February and 18-20 February.
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