"You'll be back Max Verstappen": Boxing legend Evander Holyfield comments on the 4x F1 champion's social media post

Boxing legend Evander Holyfield dropped motivational words for Max Verstappen after his P4 finish at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix. After the Dutchman described his race as a tough weekend, Holyfield backed him to make a strong comeback soon.

Verstappen had a decent start to the Miami GP weekend. Despite a disastrous sprint race, where he finished P17 due to a 10-second time penalty, the four-time world champion made a strong impression in the qualifying session.

He cruised through Q3 without a sweat, but on the final lap, he made a mistake in sector one. Regardless, he outpaced Lando Norris to win pole position. Moreover, at the race start on Sunday (May 4), he fought Norris at turn 1 to gain the lead.

However, Oscar Piastri was flying in his McLaren as he overtook him on lap 13. Moreover, Max Verstappen reported issues with grip and brakes as Norris also succeeded in surpassing him on lap 18. A virtual safety car was the last straw, as the Dutch driver pitted just a lap before the safety car was deployed.

He eventually finished the race at P4, and in a social media post, the four-time world champion said:

"Tough day today, onto the next one 💪 Thank you, Miami!"

Meanwhile, boxing legend Evander Holyfield has Verstappen's back, as he posted an encouraging comment below his Instagram post.

"Great job. You’ll be back, Max," Holyfield said in the comment.

Evander Holyfield's comment on Max Verstappen's post [Image Source: @maxverstappen1/Instagram]

Interestingly, Holyfield attended the 2025 Miami Grand Prix as Red Bull's guest and watched the race from the Hard Rock Stadium.

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Max Verstappen reacts to his P4 finish in Miami

Max Verstappen at F1 Grand Prix of Miami - Source: Getty

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen rarely fails to convert his pole start into a victory. However, Red Bull's underperforming car cost him a win at the Miami Grand Prix on May 4. He was overtaken by both McLarens by lap 18, and the virtual safety car's timing pushed him out of a podium finish at P4.

Meanwhile, reacting to his race, Verstappen said (via F1):

“I said yesterday that I would try to do my very best, and I think we did that today, but unfortunately [we] just didn’t have the pace. We were overheating a lot on the tires, so it was just quite a bit of a struggle out there, and then of course we got a bit unlucky with the VSC as well, but that’s racing as well.”

Interestingly, Red Bull tried to get Max Verstappen promoted to P3 by lodging a protest against George Russell, citing yellow flag infringement. However, the FIA dismissed the team's plea as Russell wasn't to be found in violation.