Victory for Russell, Verstappen crowned world champion

With his fourth consecutive Formula 1 world champion title in his pocket, Max Verstappen can breathe easy: the Dutchman has had a stormy year, marked by a return to competition, combined with the loss of speed and the setbacks of Red Bull.

Max the indestructible… really? Expected to be the benchmark for the 2024 grid after a record-breaking 2023 vintage, Verstappen retained his rank on Saturday evening at the end of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, at the cost of a battle with his friend Lando Norris, who has become his main rival this season. The Briton from McLaren was the last to be able to upset the Red Bull driver in his quest for a new title.

At the wheel of his RB20, the reigning champion had started the year with a bang, stringing together victories (seven out of the first ten GPs).

However, the horizon gradually darkened, since he did not win a GP between the end of June and the beginning of November – a drought of ten races. Never since 2020 has he let so many consecutive victories slip away.

Asked by AFP in October about the reasons for these difficulties, Verstappen then admitted that the “other teams [avaient] is doing a very good job” of catching up.

“They understood their car and on our side, we had a good year last year – a very good one in fact – we then tried to improve the car, which we managed to do but not in all areas “, he also explained.

This crossing of the desert therefore logically benefited the competition since in total, six different drivers won a GP during Verstappen’s drought.

Difficult year for Red Bull

This year, Red Bull has been at the center of all attention, even before the start of the 2024 vintage, when Christian Horner, the historic boss of the team, was the subject of an internal investigation into accusations of “inappropriate behavior” made by a team employee.

The Briton, who always denied the facts, was cleared by an internal investigation at the dawn of the season but the affair continued to shake up the paddock at the start of the year, even within Red Bull itself.

Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, a former F1 driver whose relations with Horner are said to not be good, had for example estimated at the beginning of March that Red Bull would “explode” if the Briton remained in his post.

Nine months later, the affair has largely subsided, but several figures from the Austrian team have nevertheless announced they are leaving the team, including sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and especially Red Bull’s historic engineer Adrian Newey. At the heart of the team’s success for nearly 20 years, the latter will join Aston Martin next year.

None of them suggested, however, that their departure was linked to the turmoil caused by the Horner affair.

But could Red Bull’s current performance still have a link to what’s happening off the track? “Difficult to answer,” Verstappen retorted in October. “Decisions related to the 2024 car were made before all of this.”

For the influential team advisor Helmut Marko, there is indeed a link between Red Bull’s performance and “the departure of important people”, he assured the Austrian media Oe24.

What future?

Faced with this agitation, the future of the Dutchman, under contract with Red Bull until 2028, logically arose. Some teams, such as Mercedes, have confirmed that they have tried to secure his services.

“Formula 1 is not like that, where suddenly we can say “Come on, goodbye guys”, that’s not how it works,” however, “Mad Max” ruled out this summer.

The now four-time champion of the discipline also assured AFP last month that he “clearly intends” to honor his contract at Red Bull, where, “in a perfect world”, he will end his career in F1.