Vettel: 'The scary thing about Verstappen is he's getting better'

“The scary thing is he's getting better.” This is how Sebastian Vettel views fellow four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, who recently completed a remarkable 2025 campaign.

Despite his Red Bull RB21 being inferior to the McLaren MCL39 for most of this season, Verstappen took more wins and more pole positions than any other driver (eight of each). Most importantly, he recovered from a 104-point deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix to miss out on the title by just two points against Lando Norris.

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, which was recorded at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Vettel was laudatory about the Red Bull driver, describing him as not only talented but also hardworking, while praising his crucial composure.

“We know he's good, but he's still improving, he's still hungry, he's still willing to learn,” the German explained. “I think he's working very hard behind the scenes as well, and that's what makes him so strong. And of course he's blessed with a lot of talent on top of that, but even if he's one of the most talented drivers on the grid, I think ultimately what makes him so strong… it's always a combination.

“But the key ingredient is his head. In the situations where it matters, he keeps his head, hardly ever makes a mistake, delivers when he needs to, feels the pressure – we all do, I don't think it's possible [for anybody not to] feel the pressure – but he's able to find a space in his head where he's able to put that to his side and focus on what matters.”

Verstappen's mature mentality is highlighted by the way he now handles wheel-to-wheel combat, Vettel reckoned.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images

“You look at Max in his moves when he was young or when he was in his first one, two, three, four years; his behaviour now is much more mature,” the German added.

“He still goes for the impossible gaps and makes them possible, which is great in his skill, but he doesn't go for all the gaps because he knows they're not important right now. If he needs to get a move on, an overtake, he's probably one of the best going through the field quickly, but if he knows ‘I've got time and it doesn't actually matter’, he's not panicking anymore.”

Vettel has also been impressed with 2025 world champion Norris’ mentality – in a very different way, depicting him as “courageous” to be open about his mental health, as negative as it might sometimes be.

“It was just a taboo,” Vettel recalled from his time in F1, from 2007 to 2022. “It was just like, ‘you don't talk about it’, and nobody did, and then you had this image of ‘racing drivers were machines, were so precise, and no mistakes, and it's all racing, and you don't show weaknesses’.

“This goes across sports, don't show weaknesses – because you know, you don't want to show it to your opponent, blah blah blah.

“I think it's all crap, I think we are all humans, we all have our problems that we're facing, and it's great to see Lando being such a role model inside Formula 1 but also then especially outside Formula 1. And I think that's also the reason why he's so popular.

“Of course, I also see the comments of others criticising that part, ‘it makes him vulnerable, it's not good’ – but I strongly disagree.”