Verstappen knows where F1 title bid was derailed, and that's why it stings

And the Dutch driver knows precisely where he lost the championship fight.

Sure, you can blame the set up, as Red Bull failed to hit the mark when it came to putting the 'diva' RB21 on track. In Brazil for instance, had Red Bull nailed the RB21 configuration from the start, Verstappen should have won both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, as his brilliant fightback from the pit lane to P3 showed the immense potential his car had until the team resolved its technical failure.

One of the major factors behind how he played himself back into the title race was how Verstappen rarely put a wheel wrong this season. His most obvious errors in 2025 were at Silverstone and Zandvoort, only one of them cost him points, and it's almost impossible to hold his British Grand Prix spin against him as he was driving one of the most difficult cars on the grid with a dry set up in downpour conditions.

But in the 2025 F1 Spanish Grand Prix, frustration took over. As Red Bull responded to a late safety car, the Dutch driver saw himself tumble down the order, and with it his chances to stay in touch with then-leader in the standings, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and his papaya teammate Lando Norris.

Having lost P3 to Charles Leclerc at the restart after a terrible snap triggered by his cold hard tyres, he felt aggrieved after Mercedes driver George Russell's on-the-limit overtake into Turn 1 - that was not without contact - which forced Verstappen into taking the escape road. Managing to rejoin the track ahead of the British driver, he was instructed by his team to give back the place.

On the very next lap, Verstappen admitted to have 'seen red,' suggesting an emotional response which led him to deliberately barge into the side of Russell's Mercedes W16 at Turn 5, which saw the Dutch driver severely sanctioned with a 10-second time penalty and three points in his super license.

The former punishment outweighed the latter, costing him what would turn out to be a vital nine points in his title bid, which would have seen him crowned champion at Abu Dhabi over Norris.

Verstappen is a driver who always makes a case for only focusing on what he can control. Which is why, regardless of what was at stake in Brazil he was satisfied with his performance, because in every session he'd extracted the maximum from his car. But in Spain, when faced with an uncontrollable situation, he felt the sting and responded accordingly - and it cost him.

After losing the title to Norris in Abu Dhabi Verstappen was confronted with his actions in Barcelona, to which he answered: "You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season. The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come," he said.

If he knew the question would come up, does it suggest it still also weighs on him? After all, he did bring the matter up himself in his post-race reaction in Brazil.

Verstappen lashed out further at the journalist. "Are you giving me a stupid grin now?," he said. "I don't know. It's part of racing in the end. You live and learn. Championship is won over 24 rounds," adding that "I've also had a lot of early Christmas presents given to me in the second half, so you can also question that."

McLaren, and in particular Norris, did benefit from the advantage their superior car gave them throughout the course of the season, whereas Verstappen could not rely on peaky performance of his machinery.

Furthermore, the mistakes McLaren made, were not born out of frustration. One could argue if the so-called papaya rules and sustaining team harmony are indeed the best way to go about racing.

Was it tighter than it needed be? Perhaps, but the Woking-based outfit and Norris still get to take the trophies home nonetheless.

There's room for technical improvement at Red Bull of which there is no doubt, but the loss of the 2025 drivers' title also highlights an area of improvement for the otherwise near-perfect performance from the four-time world champion.