Could the 2025 F1 title for Max Verstappen be his “greatest achievement ever”?

1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes if Max Verstappen defeats the McLaren duo to this year’s title, it will be his “greatest achievement ever”.

After taking back-to-back victories, Verstappen has emerged as an outsider for this year’s world title.

The Dutchman sits 69 points behind Oscar Piastri with seven rounds remaining.

Verstappen’s two wins in Monza and Baku have moved him to just 44 points off Lando Norris.

However, the low-downforce demands of the aforementioned circuits didn’t play into McLaren’s favour.

McLaren have been at their best on mid-to-high downforce circuits, particularly when track conditions - and tyre degradation - are high.

As a result, McLaren are expected to return to form at the next round in Singapore at the start of October.

Villeneuve’s Singapore worry

Remarkably, Singapore is the only circuit on the current F1 calendar where he’s not won.

In his dominant title-winning years, Verstappen wasn’t able to win.

In 2022, he had to abandon his likely pole lap due to running short of fuel.

In his record-breaking 2023 campaign, Red Bull struggled for pace, making it the only race they didn’t win as a team.

In 2024, Verstappen enjoyed a strong race to second.

Speaking to OLBG, Villeneuve said: “Yes, Max Verstappen can win the championship. Verstappen is only three races away.  And that’s not as much as people think.

“My only worry is at Singapore. Even when the Red Bull was an incredible car, for some reason that’s never been a good track for them. That’s the kind of track where they have suffered. On the other hand, they weren’t that bad in Zandvoort.

“So, who knows? This season has been full of surprises. A team that should be good at a track is useless and vice versa. We keep being surprised. And it’s amazing.

“Verstappen is a genius. He’s driving like world champions should. He’s driving at that level. If you think about the golden days when you had Prost and Senna and Mansell and Piquet, they were all driving like this. Against each other. That’s the level you want in F1. That’s the level you have to show.”

Verstappen’s greatest achievement?

As a four-time world champion, Verstappen has already achieved so much in his F1 career.

Verstappen defeated Lewis Hamilton to win his first F1 title in 2021.

In 2023, Verstappen won a record number of races - 19 - and took 10 consecutive wins, beating Sebastian Vettel’s record.

However, Villeneuve thinks toppling Piastri and Norris would be his “greatest achievement ever”.

“If Max Verstappen wins the World Drivers’ Championship, it’s definitely his greatest achievement ever,” he added.

“This year is definitely above the rest because they were not supposed to be in the hunt. He is easily the best of this generation without question.”