Max Verstappen is rewriting Formula One history with every lap – and, according to two former team bosses who know him best, he may be mounting one of the sport’s greatest comebacks.
At the end of August, the Dutchman trailed McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by a daunting 104 points. Any talk of a fifth consecutive title then would have sounded absurd.
“I would have told him he was an idiot,” Verstappen admitted to reporters on Sunday.
But three victories in the last four races have slashed the gap to 40 points, turning what once looked impossible into a very real threat.
In Austin alone, he clawed back 23 points.
If Verstappen were to come out on top, it would be an unprecedented turnaround, even taking into account the sport’s changed scoring systems.
“I think watching Max driving is watching history in the making,” Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies told reporters after Verstappen completed a perfect weekend with a U.S. Sprint and Grand Prix double from pole position.
“He surprises us every time he goes out on track. He surprises us with how much he’s pushing us between sessions, how much sensitivity he has in things we can sometimes see and sometimes cannot.”
Sauber principal Jonathan Wheatley, who was previously Red Bull’s team manager and sporting director, agreed that Verstappen could make the impossible possible.
“You can never write Max Verstappen off. What an unbelievable, dominant weekend from Max,” the Briton told reporters. “It’s a pleasure to watch.
“Max Verstappen is perhaps the best driver in the world. If I were McLaren, I’d be looking in my rearview mirrors.”
Asked whether he thought Verstappen could make up the remaining ground, Wheatley said it was possible as long as the points were there.
“Is it probable? Not normally. But Max tends to rewrite the rules to suit himself – and he’s done that his whole career,” he added.
Verstappen told reporters the chance was definitely there.
“I know that we need to be perfect until the end to have a chance, so that’s what we just need to focus on,” he said.
“It’s super close, and attention to detail will make the difference – trying to get the best setup on the car every weekend and then try not to make mistakes. That’s what we’ll try to do.”
The campaign continues next weekend in Mexico.
