After Formula 1’s gruelling marathon of a 24-round, 30-race season, the earliest events inevitably fade most quickly from memory. But one detail immediately recalls how much the first races of 2024 felt like a continuation of the previous season: Max Verstappen’s victory in the Chinese Grand Prix was his 11th from the previous 12 rounds.
He was on course to win the next one, too, until an untimely Safety Car handed victory to the driver who emerged as the strongest threat to Verstappen’s fourth consecutive championship title: Lando Norris. Yet even from the Miami Grand Prix, when Red Bull’s dominance first came under serious threat, Verstappen still won more races than any other driver.But with the competition breathing down his neck for most of the season, it wasn’t just those wins which secured him the title, but the days he had to be content with second or lower. Verstappen was often just as impressive on those occasions as when he emerged from a refreshingly competitive field to snatch victory.
He did it in Canada, where he prevailed in a straight fight with Norris and George Russell in mixed conditions. And Verstappen triumphed again at Catalunya in another fight with the same pair.
At that point, few suspected the driver who won seven of the opening 10 rounds would not stand on the top step of the podium at any of the next 10. Indeed, Verstappen only took four podium finishes during that spell.
Max Verstappen
Best | Worst | |
---|---|---|
GP start | 1 (x8) | 17 |
GP finish | 1 (x9) | 6 (x4) |
Points | 437 |
However he correctly identified Norris as his prime threat in the championship and focused his energies on thwarting his rival’s efforts. Sometimes he did this through superior skill and strategy, as at Silverstone and Spa. Sometimes he had to minimise his losses, as at Zandvoort and Singapore, when the McLaren was untouchable, at least in Norris’s hands.
Other times Verstappen pushed the rules to the limit as he strived to delay or hinder his rival. At times he seemed quite prepared to accept the inevitable penalty which followed his actions, as when they collided in Austria, or in Mexico where Verstappen threw his car down the inside of Norris in a zero-percentage move at turn seven.
Verstappen stopped the rot in his points lead at Interlagos, where luck was on his side in the grand prix – though it wasn’t in qualifying – and he drove flawlessly in dire conditions. When he secured his fourth title with a conservative drive in Las Vegas no one could doubt it was fully merited, and arguably his best to date, particularly as it came without the acrimony of 2021’s tainted finale.
With the pressure off, Verstappen took a final win in Qatar, sweeping Russell aside at the start then spotting Norris’s yellow flag error en route to his ninth victory. Following that, it was strange to see him end the year in a needless clash with Oscar Piastri in Abu Dhabi. Until then, Verstappen had demonstrated utter mastery of the competition.
RaceFans’ driver rankings are based partly on the scores awarded to drivers for their performances in each round as well as other factors.
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tielemst
31st January 2025, 10:19
The Piastri move was remarkable. I think Verstappen is a rare combination of an instinctive driver with blistering speed and always elbows out (i.e. the Piastri incident Keith mentioned), and a calculating driver maximizing his results and minimizing results of his (direct) competitors. It seems he has mastered to make these calculations in every duel he has on the track (taking penalties if need be to improve his position in the rankings, like it or not) where there is something to be gained for him, but when he has nothing to drive for the instinct of going for every corner and elbows out takes over. I think that is the only reason why he said sorry to Oscar and not in every other incident he was involved in. He maximized result, so he has nothing to be sorry for. Next year will be interesting if he needs to bring the possibilty of a race ban into his calculations.
George.be
31st January 2025, 11:55
The Piastri move was what I expected: Verstappen had nothing to lose, McLaren on the other hand were in a position to lose the WCC, so I guessed Verstappen would go for anything, betting on a risk-averse McLaren duo. Only it seemed to me Oscar wasn’t that averse, or did not expect Max’s full attack. Compare that to the way Max drove Vegas: There the shoes were on the other feet and he was not going to take a risk. This has nothing to do with who is to blame, as that was 80% Max causing a collision, in my opinion. The way you act in these situations also sets the mindset of the competing drivers: They know Max isn’t going to back down, which limits their options.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st February 2025, 1:26
Makes perfect sense, yes, as mclaren had a chance to win a title after 26 years, so ideally piastri should’ve taken evasive action; as things were they risked to lose the title because of that.
BasCB (@bascb)
1st February 2025, 12:25
Yes, that seems pretty reasonably a take yeah.
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
31st January 2025, 11:37
Not even top 3. Can only win in the best car which it was throughout the season.
w0o0dy
31st January 2025, 11:43
Right. Which of the stumbling competitors out-performed Max then?
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
31st January 2025, 12:04
No
MacLeod (@macleod)
31st January 2025, 13:38
@come-on-kubica your kidding right maybe you should read the post that from the middle part of the season McLaren was the fastest car …
Alex
31st January 2025, 21:15
I guess he could be the 1st in this ranking even driving for any of the 4 best teams this year. This guy is getting annoyingly faster as days goes by.
Steve Rogers (@beeflin)
1st February 2025, 12:48
I recognise and admire Max’s incredible skill – he might be the best F1 driver ever – but his attacks and swerves have tainted my admiration to the point where I now want to see him beaten by someone with matching aggression. Not sure such a driver exists, unless Lewis, Charles or George steps up.
Rooie Piet (@axel3304)
31st January 2025, 11:45
Prost was known as the Professor due to his calculated approach in maximizing his chances in a race, knowing when to push and when to save himself.
Verstappen seems to take it even further. With every battle, he uses that calculated approach to maximize his championship gains. Whether its by not battling anyone in Silverstone until he had the pace to challenge the guys around him and finishing second with that approach and a great strategy, driving a calculated race in Spa or the over the top defending in Austin and Mexico where minimizing the points earned by Norris was more important than maximizing his own. In every wheel-to-wheel battle he seems to evaluate whether his rival has more to lose and using it to calculate whether he’ll go with ballsy moves or a more cautious approach like with Sainz in Mexico.
I am not a fan of the do-or-die moves he tries at times, but you have to admit that if it wasn’t for those small ‘cracks’ we saw in Hungary, it would be hard to see anyone beating him in the coming years as long as Red Bull have at least the second or third fastest car…
MacLeod (@macleod)
31st January 2025, 13:44
Very nice reply!
An Sionnach
31st January 2025, 13:50
My biggest frustration with Max is how he doesn’t resemble Prost. Max is excellent at calculating when he can pull moves off and it can be difficult for the stewards to work it out in slow motion afterwards.
I think Prost would be more careful and less aggressive. I don’t mind aggression within the rules, but there are risks to every move and Max sometimes goes all in to pass a driver like Sainz or Russell, who he may not need to pass as they’re not championship rivals. Yes, I think he typically pulls off these moves but the question is why? Prost, Lauda, Piquet and a legion of lesser lights would not do this. I think Schumacher would be happy to settle than risk the overall championship picture, too. Max seems to want to win more than he needs to and sometimes has put this above what is sensible for the championship. In races where he needs a fourth or fifth place finish, make sure you get that and don’t go for the win in the first few laps when your car is destined to be passed over the race distance.
A great example of Prost’s excellence was in 1989. He was often in damage limitation mode up to Suzuka. Then, he took the lead off the line from second (as Max would), put in an excellent stint that Senna couldn’t touch. After the pit stops he drove a measured, cateful race and protected his lead when he was caught. Key to this strategy was that it is very difficult to pass at Suzuka. Senna, frustrated, and in the knowledge that he was roundly beaten, made one of his “move, or we crash” lunges. This was after Prost warning him that he would no longer yield. Senna had no other answer. We saw the same thing at the same place later with Nannini, who fell over himself to get out of the way.
Prost was fast and could be aggressive. He had seen people die and was sensible about risk to life. He focused speed and aggression, using them where necessary.
Max’s drive in Brazil was truly excellent, and not just for his technical skill. He drove like a Senna or a Schumacher in the wet, but with a calculating caution I’d never seen from him. Senna could crash out in the wet as he’d be going hell for leather. I would speculate that, had Max not been holding something in reserve, Brazil would have been even more embarrassing for everyone other than those two men from Normandy.
Hoping to see more Prost-like driving from Max in the future, even if GP needs to keep him focused on the prize!
Matthijs (@matthijs)
31st January 2025, 13:59
I think he does that to lay the foundation for future battles. If you learn from the get go that Max’s philosophy is ‘yield or we crash’, then you will be more causious the next time you encounter Max. I don’t support that approach, but there is a reason that I am behind a keyboard and Max is behind the wheel.
An Sionnach
31st January 2025, 18:41
Senna was yield or we crash. Other than one move in Mexico against Lando, every move Max went for was very close to the margins, and so was worth a go.
SteveP
31st January 2025, 19:23
Which is exactly what went wrong for Max in 2021 – the only competition he had was Lewis who said “no more, I will not yield”
Max thought that was a bluffing statement – he was wrong, and the crashes happened.
Fast-forward to 2024 and it was Max and Lando.
2025? What will Max do if more than one driver is in a similarly competitive car and does not yield?
M2X
31st January 2025, 14:43
Prost intentionally crashed into Senna.
Senna returned the favor a year later.
Prost wasn’t the “gentleman” as some make him out to be.
When the fight is on, the champions are ruthless.
An Sionnach
31st January 2025, 18:39
Watch the race in full.
mmertens (@mmertens)
2nd February 2025, 20:28
Exactly, I watched and rewatched the race several times. See the helicopter shot, you can clearly see from this shot Prost turning into Senna much earlier than actual corner line. It’s clear. Prost was ruthless too, and this time is undeniable that he just threw the car on Senna, as if both were out he would be the champion. Simple as that.
M2X
3rd February 2025, 10:35
Keith wrote an analysis about it a decade ago.
Prost did it on purpose.
https://www.racefans.net/2014/10/22/1989-japanese-grand-prix-flashback/
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st February 2025, 1:28
Yes, this makes him an incredible driver.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
31st January 2025, 12:03
His best season, one that puts him in with a shout of being THE best ever. His antics can sometimes turn the stomach but theres no doubting his craft. If he wins 2025 then i’d, through slightly gritted teeth, say he was THE best ever. Maybe.
An Sionnach
31st January 2025, 13:57
What have been the top ten heroic seasons in F1? I’m not sure Max would have made it into this, but it was a great one.
Prost 1989, 1990; Schumacher 1994; Fangio at the Nordschleife in 1957; Lauda by 0.5 points over Prost in 1984 despite being marginalised by the team (confirmed by Ron Dennis when he confronted him). Probably loads more.1994 was one of my favourites – a real David versus Goliath year.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
31st January 2025, 15:00
A titanic finish doesnt necessarily dictate greatness in a driver, just a season. One of the greatest seasons was Lewis vs Massa. By no measure is Massa a great and whomever won it was great btw
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
1st February 2025, 12:01
Good question. So many great campaigns. Starting with the 80s I’d take Prosts season in 1986 as my first pick.1989 is difficult to judge. Senna got the “special for Ayrton” engines, but suffered from bad reliability. I don’t think Prost beat Senna once on track that year. In my opinion both their 88 campaign was more impressive than what they did a year later.
86 is closely followed by Schumacher in 2001. In 1994 he did three crucial mistakes, but otherwise he was great. In 1995 and 2000 he was very good too. Hamilton did really well in 2018 as did Verstappen in 2024 and 2023. Vettel in 2011 wasn’t to shabby either. Senna in 1988 shouldn’t be overlooked because of the epic battle he had with Prost.
If we include near misses too I’d include Mansell in 1987 and Prost in 1988 and 1990. Schumacher did some magic in the 97/98 Ferraris, as did Alonso in 2012. Raikkonen in 2005 was amazing and Hamilton had an almost perfect season in 2007.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
1st February 2025, 12:05
And Verstappen in 2021 of course. Yes, he lucked in to the win in Abu Dhabi, but his season was great apart from some over the top driving at the end of the year
Davethechicken
2nd February 2025, 8:55
I disagree completely Tony.
Max can’t be judged anywhere near the best.
He steadfastly refuses to have a teammate who might beat him.
For goodness sake, he has yet another rookie driver (who hasn’t completed a full F1 season) for 2025. It really is ridiculous.
The greats proved it against their teammates whether that is Prost, Senna or Hamilton etc.
By this stage in Max’s career, to have ducked every good driver, and not looked special against Sainz and Riccardo, it definitely seems like he is scared and not confident to win.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
2nd February 2025, 14:25
Nah you dont judge a great driver just by whether he had good bad or indiffernt team mates. Its a measure but it doesnt mean you cant be a great if your team mates are poor. Id say hes made good bad and indifferent team mates look poor. If you dont think hes great, thats your opinion. Wont be many others
Davethechicken
2nd February 2025, 14:43
Sorry, I can’t agree., the only true barometer is top class teammates and Max has never had even one. The good teammate he has had have shown he isn’t all that, DR and CS.
He is good, top 3 on current grid, but Goat, no, sorry.
If as you say he was one of the goats he would be of course wanting to demonstrate it by beating an Alonso or Hamilton in the same equipment, but he won’t and never will.
He actively seems patsy teammates so he isn’t exposed
F1 frog (@f1frog)
31st January 2025, 12:13
What a remarkable season, I think he is now in the top five best drivers of all time. The wins in Imola, Canada, Spain and Brazil and even Qatar as well were all really special performances that only a driver as good as Verstappen could have pulled off. Norris, Leclerc and Russell are all very good but Verstappen clearly has a few tenths over them. I agree this was his best season, and if he goes through 2025 with consistently not the best car, it will make for an even more exciting season.
M2X
31st January 2025, 14:52
Peter Windsor did a two part video with Cory Pesaturo. In which Cory made an adjusted statistical analysis of all champions in their top period.
From that analysis he concludes that Max is the best F1 driver ever, Most consistent, highest percentage wins, podium and points finishes etc.
FrankT
31st January 2025, 16:25
Sssstt! You are going to upset some cultish people with that kind of talk…
F1 frog (@f1frog)
31st January 2025, 16:46
That’s just one mathematical model, though. There are scores more that have different results, showing that there is no correct objective answer to the GOAT debate. My own statistical analysis puts Verstappen third since 1970, after Senna and Schumacher (I haven’t yet gone back to 1950).
SteveP
31st January 2025, 19:31
There’s an old saying “Lies, damned lies, and statistics” which places stats at the “less reputable” end of the spectrum and then the “adjusted” adds to the party. :)
Let’s just be honest and call it personal opinion.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd February 2025, 2:25
Let me guess, the study was funded by Helmut Marko and the results of the analysis were defined prior to running the actual analysis.
He’s the best driver but also the worst wheel-to-wheel race of his generation under pressure. It’s like saying he’s the best tennis player but can’t serve under pressure. Or he’s the best soccer player of all time but has zero ball control (I guess Haaland could fall into the latter category).
Davethechicken
2nd February 2025, 12:38
Max can never enter the greatest of all time debate until he stops insisting on patsy teammates. I am quite certain he will retire before ever going against a even a decent teammate again. He was burnt by Riccardo and Sainz. That’s his barometer not the GOAT.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
2nd February 2025, 14:27
what? please show me how he was burnt by Ricardo and Sainz. WIth a comment like that i wonder if your opinion of Max isnt completely rational
Davethechicken
2nd February 2025, 14:50
Helmut Marko stated Sainz and Max were very evenly matched at TR.
Is Sainz too on your goat list? That was Marko, Max’s most public fan.
Riccardo comfortably beat Max as teammates until he resigned from RBR.
After that he was given a car that had major problem every race weekend.
Riccardo isn’t on anyone’s Goat list either.
Hamilton immediately matched Alonso on pace as a Rookie. I just use that as an example..
Since then Max has actively sought patsy teammates.
Edvaldo
31st January 2025, 12:36
Just like Alonso, he benefitted from sharing a team with an absolute non-factor and most likely underperformed on more than a few occasions, but the other guy is so below that we’ll never know exactly.
Still, it would be insane not to put him first when it seems that even after all the success, he still wants it more than everybody else on the track and takes risks others can only dream of taking.
His last two victories were a masterclass in seizing the opportunities when they’re right in front of you, a total opposite of Norris’s approach, in which the longest season ever wasn’t enough for him to win more than a few races.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
31st January 2025, 12:41
After 1940s and the 2010s and 2020s, I think it’s a safe to say that you can convince the average person that a frog is Jesus. If Jim Henson wasn’t the nicest guy in the world, half of us would be worshipping Kermit the Frog today. Raising my glass and toasting the all-time greats – Kermit the Frog and Max Verstappen, two of the best the sport has seen!
BamBoomBots
31st January 2025, 13:10
Well it’s quite clear that both Kermit and Verstappen would be considerably nicer company to be around than some of the commenters here, Michael.
Given that Kermit is factually inanimate, this is quite an achievement. Pride, hate, idolatry and too much time on someone’s hands is apparently quite corrupting to the human character, apparently.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
31st January 2025, 21:48
Not anywhere remotely as corrupting as Verstappen and Red Bull have been to the Formula 1 sport, if we can still call it that because sports are unilaterally ruled by one driver and one constructor as Formula 1 seems to be.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
31st January 2025, 21:48
are not unilaterally
David BR (@david-br)
31st January 2025, 16:05
Far from flawless (the crashes into Hamilton and Piastri being some of the more blatant examples) but also way beyond his rivals in terms of consistency, pace, racecraft, craftiness (exploiting the rules/steward tolerance beyond their limits) but above all motivation. For me Verstappen’s third best season of racing after 2021 and 2022 and his best championship win, which may seem a contradiction but arguably isn’t.
WheeledWarrior
1st February 2025, 11:39
Hungary and Mexico were low points as far as the driver goes with unnecessary collisions, with Monza probably being the lowpoint as far as the car was concerned.
Rolfski (@rolfski)
1st February 2025, 9:58
I actually rate his 2021 year higher because that was his first year in contention for the title and from race one he had to drive his balls out every race. The pressure for him was much higher then as later confirmed in interviews. Last year was great though. You saw him do a lot of stuff only the great do and then some in Brazil. In 2023 he became a certified legend, in 2024 he proved that even more without breaking all the records.
Leo B
1st February 2025, 11:51
There is no possible argument against Max being top of this decade. It is his.
I would put Norris ahead of Leclerc though.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd February 2025, 2:20
There’s no argument to back that up other. The car is a different category car.
Let me guess – Brazil where the rain separates the good from the bad. The car makes the difference as Ocon and Gasly podiumed, and Horner said that the car they had given Max was amazing and Norris said that the car could have lapped the field.