LAS VEGAS — (AP) — Max Verstappen won an unbelievable 19 races last season that included an incredible streak of 10 in a row in what would arguably go down as one of the greatest years in Formula 1 history.
And yet it is this year's eight-win season — his lowest victory total since 2020 — that Verstappen considers a career-defining campaign. Those eight wins were enough to win him a fourth consecutive F1 championship on Saturday night with his easy drive at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
He only needed to finish ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren to seal the title with two races remaining in the season, and he did it with a fifth-place finish that was all that was needed in a year in which Red Bull's dominance had been tested by Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes.
The championship made Verstappen only the sixth driver in F1 history to win four or more titles, adding him to the list that includes all-time greats Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Alain Prost, former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel and Juan Manuel Fangio.
The year started in cruise control with seven wins in the first 10 races that gave Verstappen a commanding lead in the driver standings. But that seventh win was in June and, as the competition caught up to Red Bull, Verstappen found himself stuck in a 10-race losing streak with Norris chipping away at the championship lead.
It was his recovery in Brazil earlier this month for his first victory in months that righted the ship and has Verstappen insistent this will go down as one of his best seasons ever.
“For sure. I mean, you know, it was a very challenging season,” said the 27-year-old Dutchman. "I think also as a person, at times it’s very challenging and I had to be calm. And I think in a way, of course, I still prefer last season. I enjoyed that a lot.
“But I think this season, definitely, again, taught me a lot of lessons that I’m very proud of. How we handled it also as a team. So in a way, of course, that makes it also a very, very special and beautiful 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."
For Verstappen, his focus is so singular that any issues related to team performance, his personal life, or anything not specific to racing, were wiped away every time he climbed into the seat of his Red Bull. The team was in turmoil as Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was under investigation over allegations of inappropriate behavior toward an employee and Verstappen's father, Jos, seemed to be on a relentless mission to have Horner removed as team leader.
Instead, other key executives fled, even as Verstappen was winning at the start of the season, and Verstappen had to manage his own mental toughness every race weekend.
“The beginning was quite, let’s say, a bit messy, but I think I’m quite calm in those situations,” he said. “I think it’s very difficult to disturb me with anything. I’m very focused on the racing side of things. And I know that when I sit in the car, I forget about everything, even positive, negative stuff. And I just focus on what’s ahead of me, and that’s performance, and drive the car as fast as I can.”
How long Verstappen continues to keep this pace remains unclear.
He's very clear in that he doesn't want a career spanning multiple decades, and while he loves winning more than anything else in his life, it's not going to fulfill him forever.
“I think in your life, every year there are always thoughts going through your head from ‘How long do I still want to do this? Where do I want to do this? How do I want to do this?’” he said. "There are things in your private life that happen, of course, in your racing life. There are always things that you have to deal with and think about.
“It’s very important to split your private life and racing life. But it’s fine to have these thoughts in your head about what you want to do. But at the same time, I’m also not someone that makes very drastic decisions at the same time. And I’m just very happy where I’m at at the moment. When there are tough times, it’s very easy to say goodbye or forget about it or ignore it. But I think it’s actually way more important to actually face them and go through it together and deal with it and just try to just move on from there and focus back, of course, on the performance side of things and have fun out there. That’s at the end of the most important. If you’re not having fun, then there’s no point to continue.”
He's won four titles in 10 years in F1 and theoretically could someday break the mark of seven championships shared by Hamilton and Schumacher. But that would take a long commitment and Verstappen has no desire at this stage of his life to be racing in his 40s.
“I'd like to win another 10 championships, but I know I'm not going to be in Formula 1 in 10 years,” Verstappen concluded before heading off to find another alcoholic beverage. After beers, a champagne celebration and double-fisting gin and tonics, Verstappen for a second year in a row was ready to celebrate being the biggest star in Sin City.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
