There's so many layers to it but I think one thing that played a big factor and wasn't really mentioned is just how close the other teams also were. Because while Red Bull wasn't the best car for most of the season, it's not a reverse trend where McLaren was the best. Ferrari and Mercedes probably took away a lot of points that would've easily helped Norris win the title on those weekends where Max wasn't on top. The graph that shows the points distribution also shows the Max effect, seeing Perez at the back is probably a closer reflection of where Red Bull stands by the end of the year, a bit lacking behind at least McLaren and Ferrari. But having this very even playing field should make next year interesting, no major changes are coming so everyone is simply improving on what they got already, and next year should see a focus on preparing the big change in 2026 so I wouldn't be surprised if we see some teams drop out of the improvement race for a championship win if they aren't close enough.
verstappen race in brazil,showed what he was made of game over
There's levels to this...
Yea, Max is talented! Norris slightly less but also talented. Also Verstappem’s experience shows, unlike Lando
There's so many layers to it but I think one thing that played a big factor and wasn't really mentioned is just how close the other teams also were. Because while Red Bull wasn't the best car for most of the season, it's not a reverse trend where McLaren was the best. Ferrari and Mercedes probably took away a lot of points that would've easily helped Norris win the title on those weekends where Max wasn't on top. The graph that shows the points distribution also shows the Max effect, seeing Perez at the back is probably a closer reflection of where Red Bull stands by the end of the year, a bit lacking behind at least McLaren and Ferrari. But having this very even playing field should make next year interesting, no major changes are coming so everyone is simply improving on what they got already, and next year should see a focus on preparing the big change in 2026 so I wouldn't be surprised if we see some teams drop out of the improvement race for a championship win if they aren't close enough.