3 reasons why Max Verstappen could be looking at his toughest title battle of his career

With the F1 preseason test done, Max Verstappen and his team will head into the 2025 F1 season hoping to make it 5 in a row. The driver first won a championship in 2021 when he beat Lewis Hamilton in the last race of the season. This has been followed by three more triumphs in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Heading into the 2025 F1 season, Verstappen is coming off an impressive title defense last season. After the first 6-7 races in 2024, the driver did not have the fastest car under him. Yet, it was the ability to extract the best from every race that helped him secure his fourth consecutive title.

The Dutchman is chasing Michael Schumacher’s feat of winning 5 consecutive titles in F1.

The pursuit would, however, be the toughest in terms of his F1 title campaigns until now. Here’s why: