During the first half of the 2025 Formula 1 season, Red Bull Racing's struggles both with its car and management led to repeated claims that 4-time World Champion Max Verstappen would trigger his exit clause and sign with another team.
When Laurent Mekies took over from Christian Horner as Red Bull's Team Principal, things quickly changed for the driver many believe is the greatest to ever set foot in an F1 car. That saw Verstappen go from being 104 points off the championship lead following August's Dutch Grand Prix to ending the season a mere 2 points behind eventual World Champion Lando Norris.
Along the way, the Dutchman gained a legion of new fans, and it soon started feeling like everyone was rooting for Verstappen to win his fifth title. That may not have happened in Abu Dhabi, but his comeback arguably ranks among the greatest in Formula 1 history.
Appearing on the Talking Bull podcast, Verstappen was asked how it feels to be crowned the People's Champion. "Yeah, I mean, surprising," he admitted. "Naturally, of course, with an underdog role, people will start to support you a bit more. I guess maybe they finally start to realise who I am. Who I really am."
"I don't try to be a fake person in the paddock or whatever. That's just not how I am. Especially in F1, when you have a lot of success, or in general, you're doing well, it's easy to maybe forget about that," Verstappen continued. "That's why it's very important to always have the most important people around you to tell you if you are acting a bit out or weird. I'm lucky I have a very good family and great friends."
A championship is won over the course of an entire season, and Red Bull's early struggles—along with some bad luck, including a poor Safety Car call from the Stewards at the Mexican Grand Prix—did little to help Verstappen's aspirations for a well-deserved fifth title.
However, for the driver who won 8 races last season (more than any of his competitors), he remains proud of his team and the comeback that left McLaren scrambling to fend him off in the latter stages of the championship battle.
"I mean, [it was] not a great first half. A lot of ups and downs, but I think our second half has been fun. I mean, we've been consistently on the podium. We've won really cool races. [The] turnaround that we had as a team. I mean, it's something that I personally also didn't expect. I think not many people expected that, but I'm very happy, of course, with what we have achieved there."
"When I crossed the line, I personally wasn't too disappointed because I think in the middle of the season I felt like the championship was not on at all, so to be back in that fight all the way till the end, to lose it by two points...at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you lose it by 1 point or 20 or 50. You don't win it, so it's as simple as that. I don't dwell on these kinds of things."
"There's a difference when you're constantly fighting for the championship throughout the year and then losing out by two points. That's different. That's not nice. But for the first 14, 15 races, I personally never thought about a championship in my head. So, everything that came after was just a bonus...four is is great, five is a little bit nicer, but at the end of the day, [I'm] still the same."
With sweeping regulation changes heading Formula 1's way this year, it remains to be seen where any team falls in the pecking order. Still, with Verstappen behind the wheel, you can be sure that he'll be back on the championship charge.
Check out the full interview with Verstappen in the player below.