Verhoeven is confident in Verstappen's title chances: 'He's faced setbacks before'

Although Verstappen's 2025 results on paper are not that bad, the Dutchman has not started the season the way he wanted. In particular, the Bahrain Grand Prix, where sixth place was the best he could achieve, was a major disappointment. Even after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last weekend, where Verstappen received a time penalty following an incident with Oscar Piastri, the Dutch racer was visibly dissatisfied.

Yet, we shouldn't worry about Verstappen, asserts his good friend Verhoeven. The kickboxer knows that the four-time world champion is incredibly good at overcoming setbacks. "Ultimately, it's all about mindset," Verhoeven shared before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in a conversation with GPblog. "Yes, ultimately, Max is just focused on what he does."

"Yes, we've faced setbacks [again]," acknowledged Verhoeven, who also sees that Red Bull is currently struggling. "Other seasons, they've faced setbacks too and had it tough. It hasn't always gone their way." 

"In Japan, he drives fantastically, and then, it's a bit of a drama or just annoying," he continued, referring to the Bahrain Grand Prix. "Okay, yeah, too bad. Get over it and onto the next. You know?" And that's exactly what Verstappen did in Saudi Arabia. The Dutchman managed to take pole, although he did not succeed in converting it after his five-second penalty for the lap 1 incident with race-winner Piastri.

According to the 36-year-old combat sport athlete, it's simple: "The race isn't over until it's over, and the season has only just begun. So we have so many races to go. So yeah, I have confidence."