2025 Formula 1 Driver of the Year: Max Verstappen

In this year-end discussion, Paul Velasco, Editor-in-Chief, and Jad Mallak, Editor, agree wholeheartedly on the 2025 Formula 1 Driver of the Year. While Formula 1 Championship titles matter, they do not always tell the full story.

Jad Mallak: "Yes, Lando Norris won the championship, but as we’ve said so many times on the website, the best driver did not win the championship. That’s not to say Norris was not worthy. He had the best car, he beat his teammate, and he managed to beat Verstappen.

"But the highlight performance of the year was Verstappen. The way he drove around the problems in his car, the way he managed the turbulence within Red Bull Racing, especially when Christian Horner was fired, and Laurent Mekies took over, was remarkable.

"He delivered what might be the comeback of the decade. From mid-season onwards, he came back from 104 points behind in the championship and lost it by just 2 points. He may be kicking himself over Barcelona, when he decided to ram George Russell. He thought that was more important than the championship and ended up losing around 9 points.

"But this is motorsport. This is Formula 1. It’s about how many points you accumulate over the course of the season. He fell short by 2 points, but he kept surprising us every race.

"That’s what’s special about Max. He keeps getting better and better, and he’s still young, 28 years old I believe. For that reason, he’s my Driver of the Year. I think Paul agrees."

Paul Velasco: "In my book, Max has been Driver of the Year for the last five years, to be honest! And Jad is right, he didn’t have the best car for the first half of this year. We know that.

"If he had the best car (aka the McLaren MCL39) he would have trundled home with the fifth greatest trophy in motorsport, in a row. Granted, the de facto 2025 World Champ, Norris, was hampered by the internal papaya rules nonsense that McLaren almost cost them their Drivers' title.

"But, at the end of the day, I’m going to guess Norris would agree that Max is better than him, and that’s not an insult to Norris in any way whatsoever. I believe that Verstappen sets the benchmark that all 19 others on the grid chase.

"I’m going to put it out there as an end-of-year statement. Max is the best driver we have ever seen in Formula 1. With all due respect to my greatest hero Ayrton Senna, I imagine the great Brazilian sitting up there looking down from racing heaven and thinking: This Dutch guy is a giant of a race driver.

"Because Max is indeed a giant racing driver of our time. He delivered on every front. Yes, early on, things went to his head occasionally. He was angry a lot of the time, especially in the first half of the season under Christian Horners' crumbling rule. But once they ditched Spice Boy and provided the rocket ship that Laurent Mekies oversaw, that was the solution.

"From that point on, he was unstoppable. He was Driver of the Year, no doubt about it. What Verstappen does is what the greats do. Even when you don’t have the best car, they do the business. And the beauty of Max is that he is still improving. He gets better every race."

JM: "I’ll just add one thing. You mentioned Ayrton Senna. I’m not from the generation that was able to watch him live. I started watching after he died. But when I watch Max every weekend, I feel like I now understand what those who witnessed Senna must have felt at the time. There’s so much of Senna in Max these days.

"So for once, Paul and I agree. Max is our 2025 Formula 1 Driver of the Year."

PV: "Amen!"