The Dutchman dominated the Abu Dhabi race to do everything he could to attempt to win his fifth consecutive drivers’ championship, but with Lando Norris finishing third, Verstappen ultimately fell two points short of completing the biggest championship comeback in F1 history.
When asked whether his clash with George Russell in Spain — an incident that dropped him from fifth to 10th after a penalty for appearing to drive into the Mercedes during their late-race fight — now stood out given its impact on the final margin, Verstappen paused before replying: “You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season, the only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come.”
After another pause he fired back further at the journalist, adding: “You’re giving me a stupid grin now.”
The exchange contrasted with the measured way Verstappen evaluated his campaign as a whole.
The Red Bull driver, who won eight races this year and delivered one of the strongest campaigns of his career, emphasised that the title outcome did not change his view of the level he reached across 2025.
“I’m sitting here now with probably a better feeling than what I had last year at this time,” he said.
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“Of course, a shame to miss out on the title, but at the same time, for a long period of time, I was not even thinking about the title.
“I never felt like I was in it until a few rounds ago. That’s pretty crazy.”
He had entered the final round 12 points behind Lando Norris after recovering from an early-season slump that left him more than 100 points down at Zandvoort.
A 10-race podium streak, including six wins in that run, brought him back into contention and ensured he ended the year with more victories than either Norris or Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen said Red Bull executed the final weekend “perfectly,” adding: “We put it on pole, we won the race in I think dominant fashion, so there is nothing really that you can say about that.”
He also noted that the championship picture stretched far beyond one moment.
“A championship is won over 24 rounds,” he said.
“I’ve also had a lot of early Christmas presents given to me in the second half. So you can also question that.”
Reflecting on Red Bull’s mid-season turnaround, he said he was “very proud” of how the team responded after a difficult first half of the year.
“We could have also very easily given up at that point, when you’re that far behind,” he said.
“The turnaround has been fun, and today has been fun.”
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko acknowledged the disappointment of losing the title by such a slim margin but echoed Verstappen’s view on the scale of the recovery effort.
“With each race, our gap became smaller,” he said.
“Two points… that hurts,” before adding that Norris was “a worthy world champion.”
Verstappen, who will not carry the #1 next season, said the result does not shake his confidence heading into the new regulations.
“I’m happy with myself and also into next year I’m not in a state of having to worry about my skills or whatever,” he said.
“So I feel good.”
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