Max Verstappen has claimed he would’ve still won the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship in 2024 and earlier than the Las Vegas Grand Prix had he driven the McLaren.
Verstappen logged his fourth successive Drivers’ title last weekend as a fifth-place finish was enough to ensure that Lando Norris can no longer catch his points total.
The Dutchman’s latest title success came despite Red Bull’s competitiveness nosediving mid-season and McLaren then picking up the baton as the pacesetting team.
But while McLaren has capitalised on that to take the lead in the Constructors’ Championship, Verstappen was able to maintain a considerable advantage over Norris.
Verstappen prevailing without the fastest package has extinguished McLaren CEO Zak Brown’s past stance that he wouldn’t have won his previous titles in other cars.
Verstappen admitted that Brown’s comments provided him added motivation, as he declared that his run to the crown would have been easier with McLaren’s MCL38.
“Such things only motivate me,” Verstappen told De Telegraaf. “If people are critical and think I can only win in the best car, I will prove them wrong.
“If I don’t get credit for this now, I don’t know what else I can do.
“Whether I would have become champion in the McLaren? Yes! And a lot sooner too. In 2021, in another car, I would have taken the title too.
“In 2022 it would have become more difficult, because Ferrari was maybe a bit too fragile then. And last year? Well, that would have been a bit trickier.”
Verstappen argues 2023 title was underappreciated
Verstappen believes his 2024 championship win should witness his record-breaking achievements last term receive the adulation he thought was missing at the time.
“Last year, I had a dominant car, but I always felt that not everyone appreciated what we achieved as a team, winning 10 in a row,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Of course, our car was dominant, but it wasn’t as dominant, I think, as people thought it was.
“So that’s for sure my best season I will always look back at.
“Because even in places where maybe we didn’t have the perfect set-up, we were still capable because in the race, our car was always quite strong to win races.
“But I’m also very proud of this season because for most of the season, I would say for 70 per cent 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.”
READ MORE – Max Verstappen ‘proud’ to win F1 title with Red Bull car that wasn’t fastest for ‘70%’ of 2024
