How Max Verstappen Won His Fourth F1 Title And Why It’s His Best Yet

As Max Verstappen cemented his name among the Formula 1 greats in Las Vegas on Saturday night, one question lingered.

Was this the hardest title the Dutchman has ever won?

“It was a very challenging season,” he said. “Also as a person at times it was very challenging and I had to be calm.

“In a way I still prefer last season. I enjoyed it a lot, but I think this season, it has taught me a lot of lessons.

“I am very proud of us as a team and in a way that makes it a very special and beautiful season.”

Certainly the route Verstappen took to his fourth consecutive world championship was vastly different from those that led to his first three triumphs.

In 2021, the Red Bull driver snatched the crown from Lewis Hamilton’s grasp in highly controversial circumstances on the final lap of the final race in Abu Dhabi.

But there was nothing remotely as dramatic over the past two seasons, when Verstappen annihilated his rivals by winning 15 and 19 races out of the 22 in calendar respectively.

The procession looked destined to continue this season, with the Dutchman winning four of the first five races and seven out of the first 10 Grands Prix.

But then, seemingly inexplicably, Red Bull’s stranglehold on the sport vanished as McLaren and Ferrari – and to a lesser extent Mercedes – rediscovered their mojo.

While upgrades turned McLaren into the fastest car on the grid, they left Red Bull severely unbalanced.

Verstappen described the RB20 as an “undriveable monster” after the Italian Grand Prix in September, an opinion shared by his teammate Sergio Perez.

As the car struggled with balance, Red Bull unveiled new upgrades, which only seemed to compound the existing issues. The RB20 struggled on every track, its lack of grip exacerbated by a set-up that demanded too much from the tyres.

And as Christian Horner admitted in September, Red Bull’s issues were down to the team overdeveloping its RB20.

“Perhaps we’ve gone a little too complex and perhaps we need to simplify a few things,” he said.

How Verstappen survived Red Bull’s struggles

Through it all, Verstappen was clearly frustrated but remained remarkably consistent despite going five months without a win after taking the chequered flag in Spain on June 23.

Conversely, Perez floundered and currently trails his teammate by 251 points, the biggest gap of any of the top four teams.

The Mexican’s abysmal form is largely why Red Bull will in all likelihood not retain the constructors’ title, where it trails McLaren by 53 points, having led the Papaya by 115 points after the Miami Grand Prix on May 5.

Verstappen led Lando Norris by 69 points after winning in Spain, but kept picking up points to prevent his rival from closing the gap as quickly as he would have liked.

The Briton was also hampered by McLaren’s decision not to prioritize him over Oscar Piastri in the title race until September.

Norris, as he has admitted himself, also left plenty of points on the table throughout the summer, a lack of ruthlessness that ultimately cost him the title.

“This year we had the car running well but we had a lot of tough races and that is something I am very proud of,” Verstappen said.

“The races when we were not the fastest car, we kept it together as a team, worked very hard, remained calm most of the times and barely made any mistakes.

“We really maximised and maybe overperformed in some places, plus our opposition in a few places definitely don’t grab the points they should have and all of those things matter when you are fighting for a championship.”

By the time the title race arrived in Brazil at the beginning of November, Verstappen led Norris by 52 points but the latter had all the momentum.

Crucially, he also took pole position, with the three-time world champion starting 17th.

It seemed to be a pivotal moment for the championship and it was, albeit not for the reason anyone anticipated.

Verstappen delivered one of the greatest drives of his career to take the chequered flag and open up a 62-point gap on Norris, who finished sixth.

“It was a defining moment for the championship,” the McLaren driver conceded.

Verstappen targets fifth world title

Verstappen closed out the title race in Vegas, coming fifth ahead of Norris as George Russell won ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, with the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc third and fourth respectively.

The Dutchman’s fourth title places him firmly into the pantheon of Formula 1’s greats, equalling a feat achieved only by another five drivers.

Hamilton and Michael Schumacher have both won seven world championships each, while Juan Manuel Fangio has five and Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, who like Verstappen won all his titles with Red Bull, have four apiece.

Don’t bet against the Dutchman adding more championship to his collection either.

“If you want to beat Max you have to be close to perfect,” Norris said. “He is one of the best the sport will ever see.”

Horner added: “He’s only just turned 27 and he’s in the form of his life so as long as we can keep giving him a decent car then he will keep delivering.”