Max Verstappen has doubled down on his claim that he would have won the 2025 Formula 1 championship – and much sooner – had he been driving for McLaren.
The Dutchman narrowly missed out on retaining his title after a stellar comeback from 104 points adrift of the lead, taking the fight down to the final round in Abu Dhabi.
Despite winning the race, Verstappen ultimately relinquished his crown to Lando Norris, ending the year just two points behind the Brit.
Ahead of the penultimate round in Qatar, Verstappen publicly stated that the title would have been over “a long time ago” in his favour had he been behind the wheel of the MCL39.
The remarks drew the ire of Norris, who intimated the Red Bull driver did not “have much of a clue” of what he was talking about.
But speaking to German publication Blick, Verstappen was insistent that his promulgation of the hypothesis was correct.
“That statement is true,” he said.
“But I never actually interfere in my opponents’ internal problems. I can always give them a competitive response on the track.”
Verstappen enters 2026 ready to do battle with the Woking-based squad again, having committed his future to Red Bull amid its transition to an in-house powertrain, built with American giants Ford.
The four-time World Champion will also be partnered by a new team-mate in Isack Hadjar, who earned his spurs with junior squad Racing Bulls after a mightily impressive debut season.
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