There’s a reason why Max Verstappen has 4 world titles on his shelf. And there’s a reason why Helmut Marko believes that he could have 5 by the end of this year.
Today, the 27-year-old Red Bull driver delivered yet another masterpiece of a race, once again showing how Red Bull Racing is still carried on his shoulders. Starting in third, Max immediately got between the McLarens, overtaking Oscar Piastri. He stayed with the two Papayas for the first third of the race, then experienced a drop in performance with the intermediate tires, making a mistake just before turn 6, allowing the Australian to pass him.
At that point, everything seemed over. But with the rain and several Safety Cars, Max got back into the game thanks to an excellent strategy from the Red Bull pit crew. When the final rain came, Max managed the situation perfectly on medium tires, while the MCL39s struggled with hard tires.
For a moment, it really seemed like Max could finish on slicks, but the rain intensified, and he was forced to pit again for intermediates.
Back out in second place behind Lando Norris, Max Verstappen pushed until the end to try and pass his rival and win but had to settle for second place.
“It was a nice and chaotic race,” Max said after the race. “Lando made a small mistake in turn 6, and I got closer, but it’s very difficult to overtake here. At least we fought for the win, and I’m happy to have taken some good points. A decent start for us.”
“The McLarens went out. We decided to stay out, and I think it was the right choice at the time. Then we were forced to pit because the rain started to fall harder. I believe if we had pitted earlier, we would have still finished second in the end, I think. At least there was some excitement, we took a gamble.”
An important final remark, showing how much Max is focused on winning his fifth title, despite a McLaren already looking strong in Melbourne: “We are where we expected. In the first stint, we lacked pace compared to McLaren, but I leave here with 18 more points than in 2024. So it’s fine.” – the Dutchman concluded at the end of the first round of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
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