Red Bull’s Max Verstappen unbothered as he finds himself being the hunter instead of the hunted
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![[NOTE: F1 photos are for editorial use only and NOT for sale] Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (#1) Max Verstappen of the Netherlands speaking to The Straits Times in the Red Bull hospitality suite at the F1 Paddock on Oct 2, 2025.](https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/straitstimes/54998f9c624663227698f30ac5b04c13986340a77d5a512618c13dad962c6f87?w=480)
Red Bull's Max Verstappen is third in the drivers' standings, behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
- Max Verstappen won his GT3 race debut at the Nurburgring Nordschleife with Chris Lulham, enjoying the multi-class racing experience and planning future participation.
- Verstappen is third in the 2025 driver standings but remains unbothered, acknowledging fluctuating seasons and focusing on improving with available resources under budget constraints.
- Despite past difficulties at the Singapore circuit, Verstappen remains uncertain about his competitiveness, while enjoying off-track family life with his partner and daughter.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – In the week before the 2025 Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was doing what he does best – zipping down racetracks and winning.
But this time, it was not in the familiar world of Formula One. Instead, the four-time F1 world champion was making his GT3 race debut at the Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany.
Teaming up with Chris Lulham, who usually contests the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup for Verstappen.com Racing, the pair stormed to victory in the ninth round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie.
The Red Bull driver told The Straits Times: “The main difference is that you are racing multi-class, so there are a lot of different kinds of cars and speed differences, and you have to drive with a teammate in the same car – the speeds are lower but at the same time the track is also very challenging.
“But it was a lot of fun to do that for the first time in my career and for sure, we’ll do it more often.”
For the Dutchman, the 2025 season has been one of new experiences as he finds himself in unfamiliar territory – as the hunter instead of the hunted in the race for the drivers’ championship.
With seven races remaining, the reigning world champion, who has four victories this season, is third in the drivers’ standings with 255 points, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri (324) and Lando Norris (299) occupying the top two spots.
In 2024, he won seven of the season’s first 10 races and went on to build an insurmountable lead, even as his rivals tried to close the gap.
This came after another dominant season in 2023, during which he won 19 out of 22 races, or 86.36 per cent – eclipsing the previous record of 75 per cent set by Italy’s Alberto Ascari in 1952.
In 2022, Verstappen claimed his second championship title with four rounds to go, eventually racking up 15 victories in 22 races, while it was a much closer fight en route to his maiden crown, with the battle going down to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi after he was tied with Lewis Hamilton on 369.5 points.
But the Dutchman is not too bothered by a less dominant 2025.
He said: “I’m fine with that. You know that you have great seasons, you know there are seasons where maybe it’s a bit more difficult and that’s exactly what happened this year.
“The last few races have been going a bit better because for the championship it’s impossible to say, we’re quite far behind but for me, it’s not something I had to get used to because it’s how it works in Formula One.”
Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands in action during practice 1 of the 2025 Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Oct 3.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
The 28-year-old has given himself a fighting chance at a late push for his fifth consecutive title after wins at the last two grands prix in Italy and Azerbaijan, aided by an upgrade that Red Bull brought to Monza.
However, the Marina Bay Street Circuit has been a tough nut to crack for Verstappen. It is the only race on the calendar that he has never won, with his best finishes being two runner-up spots in 2018 and 2024.
He remained coy about his chances in Singapore, saying: “The problem is that our car has not always been that competitive around here and hopefully this year will be a little bit better but honestly, I cannot tell you at the moment how much more competitive we are going to be.
“We just have to wait and see how it goes, try the weekend realistically.”
Even with recent performances, he downplayed his chances at another title in 2025, even if Norris insisted in media interviews in Singapore that Verstappen is still a threat.
Verstappen said: “It’s impossible to know. With the budget cap, there’s also not so much that you can do, right?
“You have your dedicated plans, but it’s not like you can suddenly reinvent the car again. It’s simply impossible, so we just have to work with what we’ve got, and try to make the car as fast as we can, and see what that will give us on every different kind of track that we still face.”
While life on the track has been mixed, Verstappen has been enjoying life off it – earlier in 2025, he and his partner Kelly Piquet welcomed their daughter Lily.
He said: “It’s really nice to get home to an extra family member and seeing her grow, that’s for sure.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted so even when you have a bad result or whatever, when you come back home, you can easily put that into perspective.”
