Verstappen brushes with perfection, leaving Norris' title in question

He moved from the impossible to the improbable, then to the incredible, and finally... to falling short at the finish line. No one in the 75-year history of Formula 1 had ever overcome such a deficit, not even with the current scoring system—he was 104 points behind at the Dutch GP in August—and he fell just two points short of achieving it.

Verstappen will be remembered in the annals of history as one of the greatest drivers. It was evident from the start: it was no coincidence that Mercedes and Red Bull fought over Jos's son a decade ago, and that the team where Sebastian Vettel drove won the battle. Helmut Marko's gamble, the former driver with a keen eye for talent and a glass eye for curses, was a bold move: Red Bull's sporting advisor didn't hesitate to offer him a seat before losing him to Torgen 'Toto' Wolff. The German would regret it for several years, especially since 2021 when Verstappen snatched the eighth World Championship from Lewis Hamilton. This weekend in Abu Dhabi, there were so many similarities to what happened that even losing the World Championship has echoes of that time. The Dutchman had to concede the crown to a more consistent Norris—he only dropped out of the 'top five' in four of the 24 races this season—although he won one more race.

Verstappen's story is fit for a series or a film, without needing to invent the plot like Netflix's theatrical 'Drive to Survive', that breeding ground for new fans who have joined the Grand Circus. Max's father, Jos, was a talented driver who remained a minor racer, subjecting his son to an upbringing aimed not at having a child, but a better version of himself. Apocryphal episodes like leaving him at a petrol station after losing a race foster a past of alleged abuse around him, which, however, was not as severe as the chronicles suggest. What cannot be denied is that his upbringing yielded results: as a teenager, he was already dominating his rivals. For the archives, that kart race against a boy named Charles Leclerc, whom he towered over, ended in 'just an incident'. A great meme for the memory.

Years later, that rebellious boy remains a beast on the track, always walking the line of legality, and the FIA has already taken note. His rivals know Verstappen doesn't hold back and, when in doubt, will push them off the track. Always on the edge, for fans, it's a blessing to watch him drive: he's the anti-hero Formula 1 needed to end the 'wokism' imposed by Lewis Hamilton during his reign. Verstappen is not an activist; he's a driver. Nothing more, nothing less.

The absurd and fallacious debate over whether Norris is a rightful champion—he overtook Tsunoda off the track—makes no sense: he scored more points than Verstappen, which already dismisses any biased narrative. But it's evident that the new world champion's season has more shadows than the runner-up's. In fact, if Norris hadn't overtaken Antonelli in Qatar—to go into the most recent detail—perhaps today we'd be talking about a five-time champion and not the 35th champion in Formula 1 history.

We'll have to see if in 2026, with the regulatory changes, Verstappen can reclaim the crown. It will be one of the great unknowns of the next season. The rumour that his future is already far from Red Bull has persisted throughout the season, and the melody plays from Mercedes' garage. Toto has not stopped dreaming of acquiring his services, and the implosion of the team that bet on him favours this possibility. His father's machinations are behind the departures of Christian Horner and Adrian Newey, the latter heading to Aston Martin and the former awaiting a destination... which might also converge dressed in green.

The mutual admiration between Alonso and Verstappen only fuels the possibility that he will succeed the former when the Spaniard realises that age is, besides a number, a form of expiry. When a spot opens at Aston Martin, perhaps Verstappen will have five, six, or eight World Championships behind him. It will depend on when Alonso decides to hang up his boots. And then perhaps his natural successor will be Verstappen, moving from a Red Bull he has dominated to one of the greatest talents, if not the greatest, the times have seen.