A shes 1936-37: Australia lost the first two Tests under Don Bradman on home soil. In the third Test, on an atrociously wet pitch, he famously reversed the batting order in the third innings, and waited for the pitch to dry out before scoring 270 batting at number 7, still the highest score by a batter at that position.
Inspired, Australia completed the most audacious of comebacks to clinch the series 3-2 and retain the Urn, still the only team to win a Test series after losing the first two matches.
March 2017, round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League: Barcelona hosted PSG at Camp Nou, having been demolished 4-0 in the first leg. When Edison Cavani scored for the away side after going 3-0 down, Barcelona required 3 more goals in less than 30 minutes to advance, because of the away goals rule. Sergi Roberto scored in the 95th minute after two Neymar goals, for the outright record of the biggest deficit overturned in a two-legged match. Remontada [comeback]!
Sport has a wonderful way of tossing up instances where extraordinary comebacks are conjured up from the pitfalls of defeat. A few instances redefine sporting culture altogether, like the couple mentioned above.
Max Verstappen may not have matched Michael Schumacher’s record of five consecutive championships, but he cemented his status among the greats of the sport
This year, we witnessed another one of these, albeit one which fell just short, but which will forever be remembered not just as a comeback of astronomical proportions, but also as one of the greatest defences of a championship.
2025 Formula 1 Championship
It was evident from the onset that McLaren would be the dominant car in the 2025 season. While Max Verstappen stole a couple of races — Suzuka (Japan) and Imola (Italy) — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri split the rest of the races between them. As the season progressed and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen regressed, growing uncompetitive with each passing race, it felt inevitable that it would be a two-way battle for the title between McLaren’s papaya cars.
When the season paused in July for the summer break, Piastri led the championship by nine points from Norris, defending champion Verstappen dawdling 97 points off the lead. His hot-headed barge into the side of George Russell in Spain, his spin at the restart when he was second behind Piastri at Silverstone, and his car’s sheer lack of competitiveness in Hungary led to the points gap being bloated to the point of no recovery.
The grid returned from the break in the Netherlands, a race characterised by Norris’ engine failure. Piastri took the win to extend his lead to 34 points. Verstappen came home second, 104 points off Piastri. 104 points behind two-thirds of the season translates to approximately 42 percent of the points available for the rest of the season.
Verstappen wasn’t even in the pundits’ conversation for the title race. This result, however, lit up a spark within him, which proved to be the catalyst for a resurgence that featured 10 podiums in row.
In the next race at Monza, Red Bull brought an upgraded floor and tweaks to both the front and rear wings, which helped Verstappen blitz the field, winning by 20 seconds from Norris. In Azerbaijan, Piastri crashed out in qualifying and Norris could only clock a time good enough for seventh in tricky rainy conditions.
Verstappen? On pole, and he converted it into consecutive wins, the gap suddenly down to 69 points. Verstappen was denied a third consecutive win in Singapore by the Mercedes of Russell but still managed second, which brought down the gap to 63 points.
At the sprint race preceding the US Grand Prix in Austin, the McLarens took out each other in a racing incident at the first corner of the first lap, allowing Verstappen to complete a sprint and Grand Prix double.
In the span of four races, Verstappen had brought the gap down from 104 points to 40 points, prompting lead commentator David Croft to compare the situation to Jurassic Park, saying, “I keep getting reminded of that scene, two people sat in a jeep and there’s a T-Rex chasing after them. There’s your T-Rex [Max Verstappen], ladies and gentlemen and Lando [Norris] and Oscar [Piastri] are in the jeep.”
Next up was Mexico, a track Red Bull and Verstappen had enjoyed in the past. This time though, the car faltered in the thin air at the high-altitude circuit. Norris claimed a dominant pole position, controlled the race from the start and won by 30 seconds. Verstappen fought to the podium from fifth on the grid; Piastri’s rough form continued with a second consecutive fifth place finish. With his first victory in seven races, Norris retook the championship lead for the first time since April.
The North American leg continued with Sao Paulo, the circuit where Verstappen had stormed to victory from 17th on the grid just 12 months ago, amidst a thunderstorm. This time, the situation was even more precarious. Starting from the pit lane due to changes in set-up after qualifying a horrendous 16th and without his preferred wet weather to assist him, Verstappen scythed through the field, showcasing his full array of talent, as he climbed from 20 seconds behind the entire field to finish in an astonishing third place, only 10 seconds behind the winner Norris. A man on a mission.
Red Bull’s decision to pit Verstappen an additional time from the lead rather than letting him fight Norris for track position demoted him a place, as he would probably have finished second had he not pitted. With this result, Norris extended his lead to 24 points from his teammate, Verstappen a further 25 points behind.
“You make your own luck,” the saying goes. In Las Vegas, Norris took pole before Verstappen fought back to win, reducing the points gap to 42 points. However, due to a technical infringement, wherein their rear skid blocks were found to have endured excessive wear, both the McLarens were disqualified post-race. Verstappen suddenly found himself second in the championship, level on points with Piastri and only 24 behind Norris.
A rejuvenated Piastri took the sprint win in Qatar and was on course to clean-sweep the weekend with victory in the Grand Prix before McLaren botched the strategy for both their drivers, leaving them out under a safety car when the entire field opted to pit. This allowed Verstappen to seize the win, Piastri came home second and Norris finished fourth.
In Abu Dhabi, the scene was set for a majestic finale. For the first time since the epic 2021 showdown between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the title race was alive going into the final race. And for the first time in 15 years, more than one driver could walk away with the championship.
Norris led, Verstappen was 12 points adrift, Piastri a further four points back. Verstappen took a crucial pole, kept the start clean and controlled the race to finish the season with 3 straight victories. Piastri overtook Norris at the start and never looked back, finishing a comfortable second.
Norris had a difficult start, pressured by Charles Leclerc for a while before regaining his composure and finishing on the podium: the minimum he needed to become World Champion for the first time. Max Verstappen’s tenure as #1 ended after 1,457 days.
Verstappen ended the season with the most victories, the most poles and the most laps led, despite not having had the fastest car. He turned around a 104-point deficit to Piastri with nine races to go into an 11-point lead, while reducing the net delta to the leader to a mere two points, the smallest margin to decide a championship under the current scoring system.
At the end of the day, it came down to that loss of temper in Barcelona or Kimi Antonelli’s snap of oversteer in Qatar (elevating Norris a position for two additional points) which decided the championship against Verstappen.
Verstappen may not have matched Michael Schumacher’s record of five consecutive championships, but he cemented his status among the greats of the sports through his grit, speed, mentality and ability to outperform the limitations of his car.
The writer is a sports enthusiast with a background in supply chain management. X: @tahagoheer
Published in Dawn, EOS, December 14th, 2025
Header Image: Red Bull Racing’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen reacts after taking the pole position at the end of the qualifying session ahead of the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on December 6, 2025 | AFP