Red Bull’s Max Verstappen entered the 2025 F1 season as the defending champion but has struggled since the opening rounds. As the year progressed, challenges only mounted. Speaking at the Hungarian GP, Verstappen pointed out the positives the team can carry into 2026 despite the current setbacks.

After a dominant 2023 season—where Verstappen claimed 19 wins from 22 races and teammate Sergio Perez secured two more—Red Bull’s supremacy began to fade. McLaren’s mid-season upgrades in 2024 brought them level, sparking a tight title battle between Lando Norris and Verstappen.

McLaren overtook Red Bull in the constructors’ standings last year and entered 2025 prepared to lead the field. That has been the case, with Oscar Piastri and Norris separated by fewer than 10 points heading into the summer break.

Verstappen initially appeared to be a title contender this year, but the RB21’s inconsistent performance from track to track has diminished those hopes. His struggles were evident at the Belgian GP—traditionally a strong venue for him—and continued in Hungary.

Looking ahead, Verstappen acknowledged the challenge:

“No one really knows for next year where they will be at. And for us this year, realistically it’s going to be very difficult to fight McLaren. I think it’s already difficult enough to fight with Ferrari and Mercedes.”

He emphasized the importance of making the most of 2025 to benefit next year’s campaign:

“But I think there’s still a lot of opportunity to learn more about the car and the behaviour of the car. Of course, I know that the cars will be different next year, but there are still things that you can take out of this year on the engineering side of things and also implement for next year.”

Hungarian GP struggles
Verstappen’s weekend in Hungary was challenging from the start. He complained of having no grip during practice—describing it as “driving on ice”—and failed to break into the Top 5 in qualifying.

A two-stop strategy in the race further hurt his chances, leaving him unable to recover positions.

“Like my whole weekend, there was just no grip and I was just struggling a lot. Not how we want to be, but I knew it was going to be a tough day,” he said.

Verstappen ultimately crossed the line in P9, finishing behind Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll.