By: For Enzo Ferrari, second place was the most dishonourable of all. The second-placed driver was “the first among the losers”, as the historic founder of the Prancing Horse would say. This year, however, describing it that way would be almost insulting to the driver who could finish in that position. Why? Because it could be Max Verstappen.
Not simply because he is Dutch. His four world titles speak for themselves. But it is not really about the driver himself. If Max can hold on to second place until Abu Dhabi, he would be awarded the runners-up spot for the second consecutive year. So it would not even be new territory for him.
The 2026 comeback carries more weight than that of 2025
This year, however, we believe it would be almost insulting to describe him in those terms because, in this writer’s view, the comeback achieved over the current season is even more significant than the one he produced in 2025.
In last season’s championship, Verstappen raced as the reigning world champion. The team went through a very difficult period and only after Horner’s departure did it find the determination to put itself back in title contention. That objective slipped away only with Norris’s victory in Abu Dhabi.
In 2026, Red Bull and Max will not have managed to keep the title fight alive until the final race, but achieving that would never have been easy. At the start of the year, their performance was truly far behind Mercedes and Ferrari. The Dutchman had to wait until the Canadian Grand Prix, the sixth round of the world championship, before reaching the podium, after countless setbacks.
The anti-Antonelli nobody expected
That is why second place in 2026 would carry greater significance if Verstappen were to claim it. Far more than it would for Hamilton, Russell or Leclerc. Verstappen is the driver nobody would have imagined seeing as Antonelli’s main rival before the Belgian Grand Prix.
An achievement worthy of Red Bull and the name Max.
Cover and in-article photos by Peter Kiss / WHYOUT Images
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