Max Verstappen handed 'he shouldn't have' verdict over latest F1 statement

Jacques Villeneuve believes there is "no doubt" that Max Verstappen is the "star" of the 2025 F1 season, after the Dutchman came perilously close to winning a fifth consecutive drivers' championship.

The 54-year-old pointed out that the Red Bull driver got — and kept — himself in title contentions when "he shouldn't have been" able to, given the disparity in performance of his RB21 and the dominant McLaren for much of the campaign.

Lando Norris eventually prevailed by just two points, but there is a general consensus that the fight for the crown with the Dutchman was closer than it ought to have been, having appeared to be a solely intra-papaya affair with Oscar Piastri for much of the year, who came up 13 points shy.

There is also the widely-held view that Verstappen would have cantered to the championship if he were driving one of the MCL39s.

When reflecting on the 71-time grand prix winner's season, Villeneuve was effusive in his praise.

"No doubt, Verstappen was star of the year," the 1997 F1 drivers' champion told PokerScout. "He’s been on it all year.

"The only time he threw points away was Barcelona, which weren’t that many.

"He was always there; he out-drove that car so well that he put himself in the championship picture when he shouldn’t have been. And that’s after winning four championships, three of them easily."

When Verstappen won his fourth title last year, it put him on the same plane as the likes of Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel.

But to Villeneuve, despite missing out on the crown and being dethroned for the first time since his maiden triumph in 2021, the 28-year-old has only enhanced his stature in the series with his performances in 2025.

"It didn’t put him to sleep; so he’s showing that he’s the real deal," the former Williams, BAR, Renault and Sauber driver said when appraising Verstappen's resilience and staying power, after defying all expectations over the season.

The 13-time grand prix winner drew an important distinction, separating mere champions from the ones who, like Verstappen, have also proven themselves to be "great" in the process.

Villeneuve added: "He’s in a different league. He’s in the league of all the great champions that there have been. Not every champion has been a great champion."