How ‘King Max’ dug deep to win his most impressive title yet

Verstappen has joined an exclusive club that now numbers six drivers to have won four or more world titles – Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, and Sebastian Vettel the others.

What is striking is the way in which each of his four titles has been won in different circumstances —2021 saw a titanic tussle with Lewis Hamilton that went down to the last lap of the final grand prix; in 2022 he fought back to overhaul an early deficit to Charles Leclerc; 2023 was total domination; and then in 2024 he extracted performances and results from a car that was not the best for the majority of a campaign which had started so strongly.

As to which is his greatest year, that is open to debate. For his part, Horner felt this season was Verstappen's most impressive, a point the 27-year-old Dutchman concurred with because, as he put it, he did not have the fastest car "for 70 per cent of the season." The fact he still extended his lead was, in his words, "something I'm very proud of."

For Horner, the work Verstappen put in behind the scenes made the difference. "He was putting in a massive amount of effort with the engineers and designers, and on the simulator, more than any of the previous years," revealed Horner.

"He's been outstanding this year, not only with what he's done in the cockpit, and I think he's inspired, but out of the cockpit as well, the way he's conducted himself. The way he's worked with the engineers and all the technical staff has been phenomenal."

After winning four of the first five races, the first sign something was awry with the RB20 materialised in Miami. Verstappen still went on to win three of the next four, albeit in the face of a concerted challenge from McLaren's Lando Norris that turned into a war in the Austrian Grand Prix when the two collided.

It was the start of a remarkable run of ten races without a win for Verstappen, his worst drought for four years. During this time, he described his car as "an undriveable monster" after a wretched performance in the Italian Grand Prix.

Verstappen knew he had to dig deep within himself and find a way to raise morale inside the team.

"It was about working together with the team because when you have these tough moments it can be very demotivating, like, 'I give up on this'," he said.

"But then those moments are very important to keep it together, to work harder and try to understand what is going on. Because in those moments you give up, you are going to give up on the championship as well."

Verstappen's battle with Norris intensified in the United States Grand Prix before exploding seven days later in Mexico City when he twice forced the British driver off track, incurring penalties and wide-sweeping criticism from many for his driving standards.

Fast forward another seven days to São Paulo, and Verstappen delivered a performance that silenced those critics and reminded everyone why he should, as Horner stated, be classed amongst the greatest the sport has been privileged enough to witness.

"Brazil was the crowning moment, in many respects," said Horner. "It was such an outstanding drive that provided the match point [in Las Vegas] that he converted it in a relatively straightforward manner."

Verstappen did what was required of him in Las Vegas, showing a level of maturity to not put up a fight when he came under attack late on and was losing positions, aware Norris was enduring a rare off-day with his car that floundered in the cold night air and in the low-grip conditions.

Norris was amongst the first to hail 'King Max'. "He's deserved it," said Norris. "He's not put a foot wrong the whole year. A strength of his is that he has no downsides, no negatives.”

"When he had the quickest car, he dominated races. When he didn't have the quickest car, he was still just behind us and almost winning the races anyway. He's driven as he always has, which is perfectly. You can't fault him anywhere.

"I think Max is the best driver in the world, and probably one of the best drivers there has ever been in Formula 1. Many people might disagree, but I'm quite confident when I say that, which is rare."

Verstappen's bitter adversary from 2021, seven-time F1 champion Hamilton, echoed Norris by stating that "he's not made any mistakes."

He added: "He's delivered every time at every point he's supposed to. He and his team have done the best job – again – fourth year in a row. It definitely got exciting at one point, but yeah, I'm really happy for him."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who made no secret of his desire that he wanted Verstappen in his team as a replacement for Ferrari-bound Hamilton next year, or potentially for 2026, described Verstappen as "a deserving champion.”

"It was clear he was one of the great ones before that already, now a four-time world champion,” said Wolff. “He dominated in the first half of the year – domination of a driver, domination of a car. Then in the second half of the season, domination of a driver. Absolutely worthy of being a four-times Formula 1 world champion."

Fernando Alonso, himself a two-time champion, said that for Verstappen, it was a title that would "feel very special to him" on the basis that the car was "not as dominant as last year.”

He added: "He did an incredible performance this year to put the car in a position that was not maybe realistic. The best example was Brazil. That was all down to him. This year he was the best."

Poignantly, despite his years of experience, Alonso said: "[There’s] always things to learn from a driver like him with these kinds of performances this year."

As to whether he can become a five-time champion next year, at this stage you would not bet against it despite the fact he no longer has the fastest car, and bearing in mind that next year's machinery will be a subtle evolution on this year's model given the overwhelming focus that will be applied to the new regulations that come into force in 2026.

Assessing his chances for next year, Verstappen said: "What I know is that the team doesn't give up.

"We know the others are not sitting still, so next year is going to be a big battle. But, like I said before, even when you're not the quickest, if you just keep maximising those results, a lot is possible."

Verstappen's rivals have been duly warned. 

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.