5 career feats Max Verstappen fell short of when he lost the championship to Lando Norris

Max Verstappen took the title battle to the last race of the season against Lando Norris, but would unfortunately fall short. The Dutch driver was not even in the picture at the midway point of the season when the McLaren duo just had an edge over the rest of the field.

Even after the race in Zandvoort, where Max Verstappen was a distant second in the race, the Dutch driver was nowhere close to even being in contention for the title. Well, that changed afterwards as the upgraded Red Bull struck form and the driver became a major factor in the championship battle.

Unfortunately for him, though, in the end, that was not enough, and he would end up losing out to Lando Norris by two points. With that being said, if the Dutch driver had accomplished another title, he would have put together some mind-blowing career accomplishments. Let's take a look at some of the feats that the driver would have achieved had he ended up winning the title.

#1 Overcoming the biggest points deficit to win the championship

Ironically, the record for the highest points deficit overturned to become a world champion already belongs to Max Verstappen. The driver achieved it in 2022 when he overcame a 46-point deficit to Charles Leclerc.

This time around, though, if he had clinched the title, he would have overcome a 104-point deficit to Oscar Piastri, a new record.

#2 Equalling Michael Schumacher's feat of 5 consecutive championships

There are quite a few drivers now who have won four consecutive F1 championships. Lewis Hamilton did it from 2017 to 2020, Sebastian Vettel did it from 2010 to 2013, Juan Manuel Fangio achieved the same from 1954 to 1957, and Max Verstappen was on the same run by winning from 2021 to 2024.

There is, however, only one driver who has gone on to win consecutive championships in a row, and that's Michael Schumacher. The German did it from 2000 to 2004, and if Verstappen had won that fifth title, he would have matched the legend's achievement.

#3 Most driver championships when the team fails to win the title

This is a bit of an odd record, which Max Verstappen currently holds with none other than his girlfriend Kelly Piquet's father, Nelson Piquet. The Brazilian and the Dutchman hold the record for winning the most driver championships when their respective teams have been unable to win the titles.

Max Verstappen did so in 2021 and 2024, while Nelson Piquet's title wins in the Brabham in 1981 and 1983 didn't result in the team clinching the title.

#4 First driver to win 5 F1 championships before he's 30 years of age

Keeping everything in perspective, Verstappen is still a very young champion. He's already won the title 4 times and is the second youngest multiple world champion (behind Sebastian Vettel, who also achieved all his success at a very young age).

If he had won his 5th championship this season, he would have done so before he was even 30 years of age, making him the youngest driver to do so as well.

The other 5x F1 champions, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio, were past their 30s when they won their respective championships, while the Dutchman would have ended up becoming the youngest to ever do so.

#5 Max Verstappen becoming the driver with the most titles for Red Bull

At the moment, Max Verstappen is level with Sebastian Vettel, as both drivers have 4 titles each. If he had gone on to win his 5th championship, he would have become the most successful driver in Red Bull history in terms of the number of championships.

Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli