What initially seemed to be a rather uneventful year has taken an unexpected turn due to Max Verstappen. Five editors and three columnists share their personal memories of Verstappen in 2025 in a short contribution. Part 5, editor-in-chief André Venema.
For months, Max Verstappen has been insisting that his mood will not be affected if the fifth world title slips through his fingers. ‘I’m certainly not going to cry in Abu Dhabi,’ he assures at the penultimate race in Qatar. Verstappen claims to be ‘completely relaxed’. “I’ll either become the champion or I won’t. It’s as simple as that,” he says in his Cruijffian manner.
The comeback that Verstappen has initiated from Monza and which has given him a glimpse of another crown in the last two desert races, seems to have hit a dead end on Saturday in Qatar after the sprint race (fourth) and the subsequent qualification for the main race (third). During the session with Dutch journalists, he is as always realistic in his commentary, but refuses to admit defeat as long as there is a mathematical chance of winning the fifth title.
Despite his fighting spirit and optimism, disappointment is also written on his face. The miracle that so many fans worldwide were still hoping for seems in vain. But a firm wave of the magic wand and a strategic blunder by the neighbors reignite the flame under the artificial light. ‘Computer-controlled,’ Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen calls his driving skills afterwards. And the memory is far from full.
