Max Verstappen expressed he was “proud” to win the 2024 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship with a Red Bull car that wasn’t the fastest for “70 per cent of the season”.
Verstappen wrapped up his fourth consecutive title with two events remaining at the Las Vegas Grand Prix with a fifth-place finish enough to see him retain his crown.
The Dutchman’s march towards another championship seemed inevitable when Red Bull’s nascent dominance saw him secure four victories in the opening five races.
However, Red Bull’s campaign began to unravel once a wrong turn in development triggered problems which saw Verstappen go on a 10-race winless run mid-season.
Verstappen was imperious, though, as he continued to maximise his results through that period and then capitalised on a wet race in Brazil to prevail from 17th place.
The recrowned F1 champion hailed how Red Bull managed to remain composed during that dip in competitiveness to protect his points advantage over Lando Norris.
“Yeah, it sounds of course very good,” Verstappen told media including Motorsport Week post-race.
“Yeah, it’s something that when you grow up racing and you see all these stats with some legendary drivers and you’re like that’s very impressive and how one day that I can even just be on the podium, win a race, maybe win a championship, it’s already hard enough to win one.
“And of course, then you also need a bit of luck to be in the right team situation to maybe win more. But yeah, luckily we did that.
“But I think that was more like the first three championships. Now, this year, we hit the ground running well, but then we had a lot of tough races.
“And that is something where I’m very proud of in those tough races where we were definitely not the fastest car.
“We kept it together as a team. We worked very hard back at the factory as well, remained calm most of the times. And we barely made any mistakes.
“We really maximised or even overperformed in some places. Plus, our opposition also in a few places definitely didn’t grab the points that they should have.
“And all those things, of course, matter at the end of the day when you fight for a championship.”
Verstappen ‘proud’ of 2024 F1 title success
Verstappen’s stuttering run to his latest title success represented a complete contrast to the previous season when he was victorious in all but three of the 22 rounds.
But asked whether he agreed with Red Bull boss Christian Horner’s assessment that it was his best championship win to date, Verstappen replied: “I think so too.
“I mean, last year, I had a dominant car, but I always felt that not everyone appreciated what we achieved as a team, you know, winning 10 in a row.
“Of course, our car was dominant, but it wasn’t as dominant, I think, as people thought it was.
“So that’s for sure my best season I will always look back at.
“Because even in places where maybe we didn’t have the perfect set-up, we were still capable because in the race, our car was always quite strong to win races.
“But I’m also very proud of this season because for most of the season, I would say for 70% of the season, we didn’t have the fastest car, but actually we still extended our lead.
“So that is definitely something that I’m very proud of.”
Pressed on whether he ever doubted that he would clinch the title amid Red Bull’s woes, Verstappen responded: “You always have to believe in yourself.
“But at the end of the day, it’s a lot of people that have to come together, a lot of things that have to come together with the car, especially in the middle of the season where we had a lot of issues where we didn’t really understand what was going on. But then I’m also very happy and I’m proud of how the team reacted, responded and turned it around a bit.
“At one point it seemed like we were a little bit lost, but at least now it feels like it’s all a bit more normal.
“Of course, here in Vegas, I feel like it’s a very one-off event where, you know, it’s very cold and the track layout is also quite special.
“But in general, I do think that since Austin, we have turned it around a little bit and we’re a bit more in that fight again.
“And yeah, all credits to the team for that. Of course, I know that it’s been quite a tough season for us overall, also the Constructors, but at least we still won one championship.”
READ MORE – Max Verstappen wins fourth consecutive F1 title in Las Vegas
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