Story byMotorsport photoLydia MeeWed, January 28, 2026 at 5:54 PM UTC·2 min readAfter years of dominating in Formula 1, Max Verstappen found himself in an underdog role during his championship fight in 2025. His post-summer break surge in performance resulted in him missing out on the drivers' championship title by just two points to winner Lando Norris. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhile he would have rather replicated a season such as 2023, when he won 19 out of the 22 grands prix, Verstappen admitted that it was nice to be met with more fan enthusiasm rather than boos from the crowd."Honestly, I've not changed as a person," he said during an appearance on The Fast and The Curious podcast."It's just that you are in a different role naturally because you're not winning as many races as we did before. But at the end of the day, for me, it's more important. Did I change?