Lando Norris or Lewis Hamilton warning? Max Verstappen reveals approach to 2025

Max Verstappen has defended his uncompromising driving style and says he “will do everything I can do win” in F1. 

The Red Bull driver recovered from a mid-season 10-race winless streak to clinch his fourth consecutive world championship last year, despite sometimes only having the third or fourth best car.

Verstappen engaged in an at-times fierce duel with Lando Norris as McLaren emerged as the team to beat during the second half of the season, with the pair having several flash points.

The Dutchman picked up two 10-second time penalties for his moves on Norris in Mexico City, a week after his driving had been questioned following another near-clash in Austin.

This year, he will encounter McLaren's Norris again and Lewis Hamilton who has joined Ferrari.

But Verstappen insists he is “fully in control” during his at-times controversial manoeuvres.

“There have been tough races, questionable moves and moments, but I know what I’m doing, I’m fully in control of what I’m doing,” Verstappen told the official F1 website.

“Sometimes, of course with a thought behind it. I’m well in control of what I’m executing on track. Sometimes it’s necessary. I will do everything I can to win.

“I hate losing. I can acknowledge when someone does a better job, but it’s still not nice to lose. That is the driving factor – we need to be better.

“Even when we were successful in 2023, we wanted to find more performance. It was something that definitely taught us a lot in 2024.”

Verstappen has ‘no weaknesses’

Part of what makes Verstappen so potent is his unwavering self-belief.

2024 demonstrated that Verstappen is hugely consistent and can maximise the potential from his car, even when it is performing far from its best.

Despite being confident in his abilities, Verstappen believes there is always room to improve.

“I don’t feel like I have any weaknesses – and I of course will never admit to it anyway!” Verstappen added.

“But I’m also very open-minded because I know I can always be better, but I also know it’s very hard…I know over a single weekend, people can have unbelievable performances, but it’s about how you can keep very good performance the whole year.

“That has to do with a lot of stuff. I don’t want to go into too much detail, as I’m of course giving away stuff. As a driver, you have to be on top of your game every single time. You need to find what works for you as every single driver is different in their approach, but you do have to understand what works for you.”