Max Verstappen makes blunt declaration ahead of the 2025 F1 season

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen claimed that even though he believed he did not have any weaknesses, he was always open to the idea of improving in certain areas. The Dutch driver secured his fourth successive World Championship in the 2024 season, despite being pushed by McLaren driver Lando Norris for the majority of the year.

The Austrian team had an uncharacteristic slump in the mid-season which proved costly and meant that they were vulnerable to their rivals for almost two-thirds of the season. He did maximum damage in every single race weekend and never let the gap go out of his control.

Speaking with F1.com, Verstappen mentioned that it would be very hard for him to keep delivering the same level of performance for an entire year but gave an honest assessment of his abilities, saying:

“I don’t feel like I have any weaknesses – and I of course will never admit to it anyway! But I’m also very open-minded because I know I can always be better, but I also know it’s very hard…I know over a single weekend, people can have unbelievable performances, but it’s about how you can keep a very good performance the whole year."

The Dutchman believed that he was aware that there were some controversial moments regarding his driving in the 2024 season but added:

"I’m fully in control of what I’m doing. Sometimes, of course with a thought behind it. I’m well in control of what I’m executing on track. Sometimes it’s necessary. I will do everything I can to win.”

While Red Bull was unable to retain its Constructors Championship, the 27-year-old performed to his best abilities to keep a hold of his title.

Max Verstappen chimes in on his competitive mindset in races

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stated that he "hates" losing but has the foresight to acknowledge someone else's performance being better than his on any given weekend.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the four-time F1 world champion said:

“I hate losing. I can acknowledge when someone does a better job, but it’s still not nice to lose. That is the driving factor – we need to be better. Even when we were successful in 2023, we wanted to find more performance. It was something that definitely taught us a lot in 2024,” he said.

Max Verstappen ultimately finished the 2024 season with 437 points and had a gap of 63 points to his nearest rival Lando Norris. Despite difficult circumstances, he was able to win two of the last four races to make a mark on the rest of the grid heading into the 2025 season, where he could win titles in a row.