Was Max Verstappen titled… too easily? Maybe that's what George Russell thinks. The Dutchman took the title in the Las Vegas Grand Prix with two rounds remaining… and he was not necessarily in the best car in the field since the start of the European tour in the spring. Nevertheless, even with Red Bull nowhere near as dominant as in 2023, the now four-time world champion managed his season perfectly, maintaining an impressive level of competitiveness and scoring big points in each race.
Thanks to the lead taken at the start of the season – where he won seven of the first ten Grands Prix – Max Verstappen was never really worried about the title. The return of Lando Norris at the end of the season was not successful and ended in failure, particularly after a complicated Brazilian Grand Prix for the Briton. However, since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, the Dutchman has only won one race… out of the twelve contested! If the Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes drivers have all tasted the joys of victory in 2024, none have been able to tickle Max Verstappen in the championship.
« CThe championship should have been played until the end”regrets Russell
A situation which therefore displeases George Russell. If the recent winner of the Las Vegas Grand Prix recognized the superiority of Max Verstappen in 2024, he believes that the championship should not have been decided so early and hopes for a real fight for the title in 2025. “We need to make sure we give him a real fight. It's time someone gave it to him [à Max Verstappen] a real fight, called George Russell on Viaplay to express his wishes. That's my goal. This is what I want to do. He's a fierce competitor and Red Bull did an incredible job… but this championship should have been fought until the end. We can always say that Max was not the favorite at a certain point and yet, he was crowned with still [deux] Grand Prix to be contested. We need to remobilize ourselves to make life a little harder for him. »
In 2025, if the situation remains like this with four competitive teams capable of winning, Max Verstappen will certainly have to work harder if he wants to retain his title. Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes now know that they are able to beat the Dutchman on a regular basis and, thanks to the stability of the regulations next season, their level of competitiveness should not be impacted. A fight between seven drivers – or even eight, if Red Bull decides – for the title in 2025: we say yes!
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