Max Verstappen's mother congratulates Lando Norris for winning 2025 F1 championship

Max Verstappen’s mother, Sophie Kumpen, congratulated Lando Norris on winning the 2025 F1 Drivers' championship on her Instagram story. She also shared a message for her son, expressing how proud she was of the 4x world champion’s efforts.

Verstappen looked out of the championship fight at the halfway point of the 2025 season, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri appearing to be the only contenders for the title. But the 28-year-old clawed his way back into the battle in the second half of the year and ultimately finished just two points behind the eventual champion, Norris.

Verstappen's mother was understandably proud of his comeback in the second half of the season and shared a message for him on Instagram. She also congratulated Norris, posting a photograph of the two drivers together on her story.

"So proud of you, after such a comeback and never giving up💪🏻 congrats to Lando 🏆"

Screen grab of Sophie Kumpen's Instagram story [via Instagram/@sophiekumpen]

Max Verstappen ended the 2025 season with eight poles and eight wins, more than both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Six of those came in the final nine races, underscoring his and Red Bull’s late-season surge.

Max Verstappen had gone 104 points behind Piastri after the Dutch GP, yet he not only closed the gap but overtook the Aussie to finish second in the standings. His charge, combined with Piastri’s dip in form after the summer break, made his comeback even more remarkable.

But unfortunately for him, Norris was also in the mix to capitalize fully on Piastri's bad form, and the Briton did so brilliantly to secure his maiden title in Abu Dhabi.

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Lando Norris reflects on battling Max Verstappen for 2025 drivers' title

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Lando Norris explained that he never counted Max Verstappen out of the fight for the drivers' title. The driver also claimed that it was a pleasure for him to go up against Verstappen for a world title.

Speaking about the Red Bull man post-race, Norris shared his honest thoughts on Verstappen's title bid in 2025.

"You can never count out Max. You know, Max is Max. And yeah, we certainly never counted him out, but for anyone who might have done, he proved you all wrong," said Norris. via, F1 TV.

"But a pleasure to fight Max, a 4x world champion. So for me to have those fights against him and enjoy those moments on track, maybe not always enjoy them, but some of them (was great)," he added.

Norris even spared a word for his teammate, Oscar Piastri, saying he also made his life more difficult in 2025, alongside Verstappen. He concluded by claiming that Piastri will also become a world champion in the future.