Max Verstappen withstood pressure from Lando Norris to claim his fourth Formula 1 title in a row in 2024 and has now fired an ominous warning before the 2025 season.
Only one person in F1 history has ever secured five drivers’ titles in a row to date in Michael Schumacher. The German conquered the world each year driving for Ferrari from 2000 until 2004. Now, Verstappen of Red Bull has a chance to match Schumacher’s dominant record.
The 27-year-old took his latest title after holding off the emergence of Norris as a Formula 1 title contender last year. Verstappen starting the season with five wins across the first seven rounds ultimately meant Norris’ challenge came too late after McLaren’s upgrades in Miami.
Max Verstappen warns his F1 title rivals the Red Bull driver can ‘always be better’
Verstappen’s consistency throughout the 2024 season also ensured he seldom lost points to potential title rivals. After holding on to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Verstappen was 48 points clear of Charles Leclerc at the top and ultimately ended the year 63 clear of Norris.
Yet Verstappen has now delivered an ominous warning to the likes of Norris and Leclerc with the Red Bull racer convinced he can ‘always be better’. While the 63-time Grand Prix winner does not see many flaws in his racecraft, Verstappen knows his strengths and weaknesses.
READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge
“I don’t feel like I have any weaknesses, and I of course will never admit to it anyway,” noted Verstappen, via the official F1 website. “But I’m also very open-minded because I know I can always be better, but I also know it’s very hard.
“I know over a single weekend, people can have unbelievable performances. But it’s about how you can keep very good performances the whole year. That has to do with a lot of stuff. I don’t want to go into too much detail as I’m of course giving away stuff.”
Lando Norris exposed Max Verstappen’s weaknesses but has not exploited them
While Verstappen might feel he does not have ‘any’ weaknesses in his racecraft, the Red Bull driver being pushed for his latest championship proved there are still cracks in his skills. It is also only when the Dutchman is pushed to his limits that Verstappen shows his weaknesses.
But Verstappen also learned during the 2024 season that he has a psychological advantage over Norris that the McLaren star must overcome if the duo fight for another driver’s title. It will otherwise remain a weapon in his arsenal that the Red Bull ace can unleash at any time.
Verstappen crashed into Norris in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix when they fought for victory at the Red Bull Ring. The Dutchman refused to yield to his emerging title rival and put his car in a position where they either crashed if Norris did not back out or they both took damage.
It became too common for Norris to expose Verstappen’s major weaknesses in racing wheel-to-wheel without exploiting it. The McLaren driver even made it far too easy for his Red Bull rival when Norris left Turn 1 open for Verstappen to lead the 2024 United States Grand Prix.
There was zero chance that Verstappen would not punish Norris for leaving the corner open and forced the Briton off the road, falling to fourth place. He also wasted no time in running his rival off when Norris received a penalty for overtaking Verstappen off the circuit at COTA.
But the McLaren pilot seemingly learned from their duel in Austin when Verstappen merited two penalties for taking Norris off in the Mexico City Grand Prix. Yet the 25-year-old possibly cost himself a chance at the race win by then sitting behind Verstappen before the pit stops.
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