Formula One F1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - December 7, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris before the race REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki
ABU DHABI, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Max Verstappen was needled by one question after handing his Formula One title to Lando Norris on Sunday.
After reminding the four-times world champion that he had lost out to his McLaren rival by two points,a reporter asked the Red Bull driver whether he regretted an incident with Mercedes' George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
That clash triggered a 10-second penalty and dropped the Dutchman from fifth to 10th -- the loss of nine, precious points.
"You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season. The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come. You're giving me a stupid grin now," Verstappen replied to his questioner, fixing the reporter with an icy stare.
"It's part of racing at the end. You live and learn. The championship is one of 24 rounds. I've also had a lot of early Christmas presents given to me in the second half (of the season), so you can also question that."
Verstappen ended the campaign with more wins than anyone, eight to Norris and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri's seven apiece, and nearly pulled off the sport's greatest points recovery after being 104 off the lead at the end of August.
His achievement in coming back from being an 80/1 outsider to nearly retaining the title will be talked about for years to come and was helped by the failings of others as well as his own driving genius.
THE POINTS THAT GOT AWAY
Inevitably, as the dust settled on the three-way battle that ended with the top trio separated by 13 points, there was discussion -- however futile ultimately -- of the what-if scenarios.
Every season has them and, like anglers talking about the mythical big fish that got away,conversations among fans in coming years will inevitably come back to the moments that could have produced an alternative outcome.
Each of the three title contenders had them in 2025: Norris might have had an easier run to his first crown had he not driven into the back of Piastri's car and retired in Canada three laps from the end.
The Briton gained three points from his teammate in Italy after they switched positions as compensation for a slow pitstop Norris suffered after being assured he would not lose out.
Norris also suffered a mechanical retirement in the Netherlands while running in second place and both McLarens were disqualified in Las Vegas, a failure that kept Verstappen in the reckoning against the odds.
The story might also have been very different had Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli not made a mistake and run wide in Qatar, the race before Abu Dhabi, allowing Norris to pass and take fourth place on the penultimate lap -- a vital gain of two points.
The Italian, who received abuse and death threats on social media, made his apologies to Verstappen after Sunday's race.
Piastri won five of the first nine and then none of the last nine as Verstappen cashed in, the Australian's hopes in Qatar thwarted by a team strategy error while he was leading.
What if Piastri had not crashed and retired on the opening lap in Azerbaijan or skidded off in the season-opener in Melbourne, finishing ninth instead of on the podium?
There were also controversial penalties at Silverstone and in Brazil.
Norris recognised that small margins, and tiny details, carry huge consequences in a sport measured in micro-seconds and millimetres.
"It got pretty close," he said of a key overtake on Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda in Sunday's race that sent him off track. "You're like, "Damn, if that was five centimetres closer - it's over.
"Three laps to go, four laps to go, I stopped taking any kerbs because I'm like 'if that just makes one piece of the car undo itself, it's over'."
(Reporting by Alan BaldwinEditing by Christian Radnedge)
