{"id":503839,"date":"2025-10-16T09:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T09:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/503839\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T09:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T09:49:10","slug":"hakkinen-impressed-by-verstappen-hes-doing-something-special-with-red-bull","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/503839\/","title":{"rendered":"H\u00e4kkinen Impressed by Verstappen: \u201cHe\u2019s Doing Something Special with Red Bull\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika H\u00e4kkinen believes there\u2019s something extraordinary about Max Verstappen<\/a>\u2019s current form. The Finnish legend says the four-time champion is showing qualities that set him apart, even as Red Bull continues to fight its way back into championship contention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredible what he\u2019s doing\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just a few months ago, it looked like Verstappen and Red Bull were out of the title race. The Dutchman trailed the McLaren<\/a> drivers by a wide margin, and the team\u2019s early-season struggles raised questions about its dominance. But since the summer break, the momentum has shifted \u2014 and Verstappen now sits only 63 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking to FanCode, H\u00e4kkinen said he\u2019s been particularly impressed by how Verstappen has helped turn Red Bull\u2019s fortunes around. \u201cMathematically, it\u2019s still possible,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what\u2019s most impressive is how Max has worked with the team to maximize the car\u2019s performance. It\u2019s simply incredible. Sometimes results come in waves and lack consistency, but Max has managed to steady that ship.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Carrying the team alone\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

H\u00e4kkinen noted that Verstappen\u2019s situation is unusual for a top driver \u2014 competing without the added pressure of a teammate pushing him. \u201cHe\u2019s pretty much on his own within the team,\u201d H\u00e4kkinen explained. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have a teammate who\u2019s forcing him to raise his level, so it\u2019s fascinating to watch how he manages everything himself. It\u2019s really interesting to see how he handles that challenge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Closing in on McLaren\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Verstappen\u2019s recent form has tightened the championship picture. He trails Lando Norris<\/a> by just 41 points, while both McLaren drivers have suffered setbacks in recent races \u2014 Norris with a technical issue, and Piastri crashing out in Abu Dhabi.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While luck can always swing the other way, H\u00e4kkinen believes Verstappen has put himself back in striking distance. \u201cIf he keeps this up,\u201d the Finn said, \u201che can absolutely still become world champion. He just needs to keep closing the gap, about eleven points per weekend on average. And knowing Max, that\u2019s not impossible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A champion\u2019s resilience\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

H\u00e4kkinen\u2019s words underline what many in the paddock are starting to feel: even when written off, Verstappen has an uncanny ability to claw his way back. With momentum returning and<\/p>\n

Red Bull rediscovering form, the final races of the season could yet see another classic Verstappen comeback.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika H\u00e4kkinen believes there\u2019s something extraordinary about Max Verstappen\u2019s current form. The Finnish…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4103],"tags":[4199,707,4200,141676,1073,150051,749,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-503839","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-f1","8":"tag-f1","9":"tag-formula-1","10":"tag-formula1","11":"tag-formule-1","12":"tag-max-verstappen","13":"tag-mika-hakkinen","14":"tag-red-bull-racing","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115383223245419233","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}