In the annals of sporting history, there are moments that defy logic, shatter expectations, and force a complete reappraisal of greatness. We have just witnessed one. The 2025 Formula 1 World Championship was, by all accounts, over. With a seemingly insurmountable 102-point gap separating Max Verstappen from his rivals, the conversation had shifted from “if” to “when” the new champion would be crowned. Red Bull, the dominant force of yesteryear, looked to be fading, while the resurgent McLaren team appeared poised to take the throne.

Then, the “impossible” happened.

In a furious, relentless, and almost logic-defying charge following the summer break, Verstappen rewrote the script. A string of victories and podiums—second at the Dutch Grand Prix, a win in Italy, another in Azerbaijan, a second in Singapore, and a dominant victory in the US—slashed the deficit. What was once a 102-point chasm became a 40-point gap with five races to go. The hunter had become the hunted, and the entire F1 world was left breathless. Now, with Verstappen snatching the title in the most dramatic comeback in the sport’s history, the question is no longer if he is great. The question is: has he just become the greatest of all time?

This is not a title bestowed lightly. For decades, the “GOAT” conversation in Formula 1 has revolved around a holy trinity of legends, each with a unique claim to the throne. First, there is Lewis Hamilton, the statistical colossus. A seven-time World Champion (a number many fans will passionately argue should be eight), Hamilton holds the most staggering records in the sport: over 100 victories and over 100 pole positions. He is the benchmark of modern-day excellence and consistency.

Beside him stands Michael Schumacher, the man who redefined dominance. Also a seven-time champion, Schumacher’s 91 victories and relentless, sometimes ruthless, pursuit of victory set a standard that many believed would never be matched. He was the definitive GOAT for a generation, a driver who, like Verstappen, could “completely disappear out front and make the entire grid look like literal amateurs.”

And then, there is Ayrton Senna. With only three titles and 40-something wins, Senna’s claim isn’t built on numbers but on something more ephemeral: magic. He was, as many have said, a “wizard behind the wheel.” His precision, his mastery, and his otherworldly car control, especially in the rain, gave him a mystical aura. His career, tragically cut short, remains one of the sport’s greatest “what ifs.”

These are the titans. So, how does Max Verstappen, even with this historic fifth consecutive title, compare?

The case for Verstappen is as ferocious as his driving style. This is, after all, the man who entered the sport as its youngest-ever driver at 17, became its youngest-ever winner at 18, and then went head-to-head with a prime Lewis Hamilton and emerged victorious in 2021. He followed that with a dominant 2022 and a 2023 season that was a statistical annihilation, winning 19 races, including a record 10 in a row. He has already proven he can win with dominance and win under pressure.

His proponents will point to the direct comparisons. Like Schumacher, Verstappen possesses a “take-no-prisoners” aggression and an unerring ability to wring every millisecond out of his car, even against grids stacked with talent. Like Senna, his driving, particularly in wet and chaotic conditions, is often unexplainable, “like having a grip enhancement mod on the F1 game.” And unlike any of them, he has now executed the single greatest points comeback in F1 history. Not even Hamilton, Schumacher, or Senna can lay claim to such a feat.

The community consensus is deafening. Across Discord servers, YouTube comments, and Twitter threads, the verdict is nearly unanimous: this comeback, this display of sheer will and talent, places him, at a minimum, in the top three of all time. For many, the debate is simply over. He is the one.

But a true, journalistic appraisal must also consider the asterisks, the counter-arguments that add crucial context to this achievement. While Verstappen’s talent is undeniable, was this miracle all his own doing?

The first, and perhaps most significant, counter-point is the spectacular failure of his primary rival, McLaren. As Verstappen was mounting his charge, McLaren, armed with what many experts deemed the “outright fastest car on the grid,” was simultaneously self-destructing. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, while blindingly fast, have been accused of “bottling” it. From engine failures and driver errors to inexplicable spins and baffling strategy calls that saw them “f-ing up their strategy,” McLaren seemed to crumble under the pressure. An engine failure for Lando in Zandvoort. A crash for Oscar in Baku. A bizarre incident in Singapore. It’s easy to look dominant, critics say, when your main competition is “doing stupid sh*t like this.” Is Verstappen a conqueror, or is he simply the last man standing, adeptly “picking up their pieces”?

Furthermore, there is the question of the machinery. This is not an “Alonso 2012” situation, where a driver dragged a demonstrably inferior car to the brink of a title. While Red Bull faltered early in 2025, the team’s post-summer break improvements have been undeniable. The car Verstappen is driving now is, by most accounts, “equal with McLaren, or barely slower, or barely faster.” He has a fighting chance because his car is a top-tier contender. This comeback is a testament to both driver and machine working in perfect, terrifying harmony.

Finally, there is the question of competition. The “GOAT” status is often forged in the fires of iconic rivalries. Schumacher had Häkkinen, Alonso, and Räikkönen. Hamilton had Alonso, Vettel, and Rosberg. Senna had Prost. Who has been Verstappen’s career-defining equal? He beat an aging, though still brilliant, Lewis Hamilton in 2021. But since then, who has truly challenged him in an equal car, in their prime? The sport is crying out for a sustained, season-long, wheel-to-wheel battle between Max Verstappen and the next generation, like Charles Leclerc or George Russell. Many believe that until we see him in that fight, the jury must remain out.

Ultimately, the debate over a single “greatest of all time” may be a fool’s errand. Formula 1 evolves so dramatically from one era to the next that comparing Fangio’s 1950s plumber-and-farmer-filled grid to the high-tech, high-G-force battleground of today is like comparing two different sports. As in basketball with Jordan and LeBron, or in football with Messi and Ronaldo, perhaps the true answer is that there are multiple “GOATs,” each defining their respective era.

What we can say with absolute certainty is this: Max Verstappen’s name is now permanently etched on that impossibly short list. His 2025 comeback is a feat of pressure, skill, and relentless determination that will be spoken of with awe for as long as cars race in circles. Whether he is the GOAT is a subjective debate for the ages. But that he is one of them is now, and forever, beyond question.