Max Verstappen sends Red Bull warning that will put Lando Norris on high alert

Max Verstappen won a fourth consecutive F1 title in 2024 despite Red Bull not being as dominant as they previously were, but worries for his chances in 2025 unless improvements are made

Max Verstappen had called upon his Red Bull team to step up its game – or miss out on more Formula 1 glory next year.

Red Bull enjoyed a strong start to the 2024 season and looked to have once again produced a dominant car. But other teams, McLaren in particular, swiftly closed the performance gap and, after winning seven of the first 10 races, Verstappen suddenly found things much more difficult.

He was still able to do more than enough to secure the drivers’ title for the fourth straight season, seeing off a stern challenge from Lando Norris. But unless Red Bull solve their major problems this winter, the Dutchman doubts whether he will be able to repeat that trick in 2025.

“If we continue like this, I will not be champion next year,” he bluntly told De Telegraaf. “It is that simple. We really have to make steps to be competitive next season. We all know that.

“I trust that the team can fix the balance problems of last season. And certain things that we could not change last year will be changed for next year. We know that it has to be better over the kerbs, bumps and in the slow corners. Those are generally our weak points. If we are still beaten, it will be on the basis of pure speed.”

Verstappen has said many times that his fourth championship success was his best. That’s despite smashing records in a remarkably dominant 2023 campaign, two years after edging out Lewis Hamilton in a remarkably close and bad-tempered heavyweight duel to win the title for the first time.

And despite having been racing in F1 for a decade now, the 27-year-old feels he still learned plenty of things in 2024 that he will be able to put to good use in his quest to keep Norris and other challengers at arm’s length again next term.

He added: “I have benefited a lot from my experience this year. Stay calm, don’t force it, communicate well with the team and keep working hard. That is the key for me.

“In 2021, there was a lot more pressure for me and the team. Then we competed against Mercedes, a team that had been dominant for so long, and I was able to fight for a championship for the first time. Lewis Hamilton and I finished first and second almost every race.

“It could have gone either way back then. This year there may have been a bit more drama around the team, but in terms of sport it was a bit more stressful back then.”