The Unthinkable Comeback: How Max Verstappen and Red Bull Are Rewriting F1 History in 2025

Just a few weeks ago, the 2025 Formula 1 championship race seemed all but over. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri sat comfortably atop the standings with a 104-point lead after the Dutch Grand Prix, leaving Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing facing a bleak outlook, seemingly resigned to a second-place finish. However, in a story fit for a modern fairytale, Max Verstappen—a driver often likened to a “predator” on the track—has orchestrated a breathtaking comeback, shaking the entire F1 world and leaving his rival McLaren speechless in disbelief.

With back-to-back victories in Monza and Baku, Verstappen has drastically narrowed the gap to just 69 points. For most other drivers, this would still be an impossible task. But Max Verstappen is no ordinary driver, and this is precisely what has McLaren worried. As the season enters its decisive final stage, the pressure is mounting on the papaya team and its two young drivers, Piastri and Norris, who are locked in a fierce “civil war” for their first-ever world championship title.

The Secret Behind the Revival: Red Bull’s “Insane” Floor Upgrade

To fully grasp Verstappen’s resurgence, we must look at the cold, hard numbers that define F1. After the Dutch Grand Prix, a 104-point deficit was a true “Mount Everest.” Such a massive gap so late in the season usually signals the end of any title fight. Yet, just two races later, Verstappen has clawed back 35 precious points with convincing wins. The 69-point gap is still monumental, even bordering on impossible, but now, the faintest glimmer of hope has appeared, enough to reignite a battle that seemed all but extinguished.

What makes this surge so fascinating is not just the victories themselves, but the manner in which Red Bull achieved them. For much of the 2025 season, their RB21 had been plagued by understeer, a lack of cornering stability, and a setup window so narrow that Verstappen often found himself frustrated. He repeatedly complained of the car sliding through medium-speed corners and refusing to rotate as he demanded. But in Monza and Baku, all those complaints seemed to vanish. Suddenly, Verstappen was one with his machine again.

So, what changed? The key lies in the floor upgrade Red Bull unveiled at Monza. It may sound like a minor technical detail, but in modern Formula 1, the floor is the beating heart of performance. The new design widened the car’s setup window, allowing Red Bull to run lower ride heights and stiffer suspensions without the RB21 bottoming out or becoming unstable. This stability gave Verstappen the confidence to push the car to its limits in areas where he had previously been hesitant.

At Monza, Red Bull trimmed drag with a lower-downforce rear wing. McLaren expected to dominate the corners while maintaining decent straight-line speed. But to their surprise, Red Bull barely lost any time in the twisty sections. In fact, Verstappen was quicker through the Ascari and Parabolica corners—places where McLaren usually shone. The same story unfolded in Baku, where the RB21’s improved front-end grip allowed Verstappen to attack the 90-degree corners without the nervous mid-corner slides that had haunted him previously. For the first time in months, Verstappen could lean on the car and know exactly how it would respond.

McLaren in the Eye of the Storm: Pressure from Verstappen and an Internal War

It was at this point that Andrea Stella, McLaren’s Team Principal, admitted his growing unease. “It’s not just about pace; it’s about the psychology of racing against Verstappen,” Stella said. “He is the one opponent who never surrenders, the one driver who turns the smallest chink in your armor into a dagger.” McLaren may still hold the championship advantage, but they also have the Achilles’ heel of an internal rivalry.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are locked in a tense personal fight for their first world title. That intensity fuels their speed, but it also creates mistakes. And when mistakes happen, Verstappen is waiting. Baku was a perfect example: McLaren cracked under pressure, and Red Bull struck with ruthless precision.

Yet, even in this resurgence, we must remain realistic. A 69-point gap with seven races left is colossal. No driver in Formula 1 history has overturned such a deficit this late in the season. To keep his dream alive, Verstappen would need near-perfection—winning every race and sprint while counting on McLaren to stumble.

That is why Verstappen himself is not openly talking about the championship. Instead, he’s focusing on maximizing points race by race, keeping the pressure alive, and forcing McLaren to feel the heat until Abu Dhabi.

The Singapore Challenge: A Test of Red Bull’s Newfound Versatility

This brings us to the next crucial battleground: Singapore. The Marina Bay circuit is the complete opposite of Monza and Baku. It demands maximum downforce, punishes any lack of mechanical grip, and requires perfect tire management in brutal humidity. Historically, McLaren has excelled on such tracks; their car thrives on medium-to-high downforce setups and long, flowing corners. Verstappen, on the other hand, has never won in Singapore.

If Red Bull’s newfound versatility is genuine, it will be proven here. If not, their Monza-Baku momentum could fade as quickly as it arrived. But there are reasons for cautious optimism at Red Bull. Last year, Verstappen qualified just two-tenths off Norris for pole and finished runner-up, albeit 20 seconds behind. With this new floor package and better balance, replicating or even improving on that result is not impossible. And if Verstappen can somehow beat McLaren on one of their strongest tracks, the psychological blow would be immense.

Another overlooked factor is Red Bull’s internal transformation under Laurent Mekies. The former Ferrari and AlphaTauri man has brought structure, discipline, and a more driven approach to strategy. Crucially, he has empowered Verstappen’s instincts. At Monza, it was Verstappen’s feedback that pushed the team toward a lower-drag setup. In Baku, his preference for soft tires in qualifying and hard tires in the race proved decisive. The Verstappen-Mekies partnership is quietly becoming one of Red Bull’s greatest assets.

The Limitations and the Final Psychological Battle

Still, there are limitations that cannot be ignored. Singapore’s bumps and curbs will test the RB21’s floor rigidity. Tire degradation in hot, humid conditions remains a weakness for Red Bull, whereas McLaren has shown stronger tire management. And of course, reliability looms as a potential wild card; a single DNF could destroy any mathematical chance of a comeback.

So, where does this leave us? On one hand, Verstappen faces an almost impossible challenge. On the other, momentum, pressure, and psychology are tilting ever so slightly in his favor. McLaren still controls their destiny, but they must walk a tightrope. Any further mistakes, any internal clashes between Norris and Piastri, and Verstappen will be there to turn their dream season into a nightmare.

In the end, this fight may not just be about raw speed or points. It’s about resilience, mentality, and the ability to withstand the crushing weight of expectation. McLaren hasn’t won a driver’s championship since 2008. Verstappen has been there, done that, and carries an aura of inevitability. That contrast is what makes the final stretch of 2025 so compelling. Whether Verstappen pulls off a miracle or not, one truth remains: as long as he is on the grid, McLaren cannot feel safe. Because in the world of Max Verstappen, words like “impossible” and “surrender” simply do not exist.