The Austrian team were superb in the opening phase of the campaign as Verstappen won seven of the first 10 races.
Verstappen also had a competitive car at the Australian Grand Prix but retired from the lead in the opening stages, which allowed Carlos Sainz to take victory.
He won the championship in Las Vegas for Red Bull and Verstappen had the advantage over Lando Norris in combat, which helped him clinch the title.
| Position | Drivers' Championship | PointsPts |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | 437 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | 374 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | 356 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | 292 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz Jr | 290 |
| 6 | George Russell | 245 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | 223 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | 152 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | 70 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | 42 |
Despite taking the title, the summer was particularly frustrating for the Red Bull driver after moments such as a win in Austria falling away after contact with Norris.
Verstappen is adamant that Red Bull can consistently return to the top in 2025 and challenge for victories for one reason in particular.
The Red Bull became very difficult to drive over the season and Sergio Perez, in particular, struggled with the RB20 and has been replaced by Liam Lawson.
Verstappen requires a very sharp car with a lot of grip on the front axle, which can make it more difficult for his teammates to keep up.
The four-time world champion feels the car is improving, and the Red Bull team’s tireless work gives Verstappen confidence the Austrian team can be at the front in 2025.
He told RacingNews365: “The car is getting better, it is still not fixed but we are getting on top of those things, and I’m sure that if we fully nail our issues, we can actually unlock a lot more performance out of the car.
“I don’t really think about [becoming a five-time champion] too much, I just want to enjoy it, see where we are in the beginning of the year and trust the team.
“They are going flat out at it, I gave my feedback and they know what I want from a car, and hopefully we can make it work.”
Red Bull have recovered from setbacks in the past, such as in 2022 when Ferrari were much quicker than them in some races before Verstappen stormed to his second championship.
Verstappen has also been very consistent, which allowed him to minimise the damage this year when McLaren were clearly quicker at times.
Despite Verstappen comfortably clinching his fourth world championship, Red Bull were inconsistent for much of the year as McLaren made improvements.
McLaren won the constructors’ championship for the first time since 1998, and they have two competitive drivers in Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Red Bull are in a slightly different situation as they can rely on Verstappen to win races, but his new teammate Lawson is unproven at the sharp end.
Ferrari are also likely to be very competitive again alongside welcoming Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes, who did have moments of brilliance this year as the German team improved.
