Max Verstappen’s fourth world title has likely cemented the Dutchman’s status as a true champion. After securing seven wins in the first ten races, Red Bull faced technical challenges, but Max remained composed and consistently delivered strong results.
Despite missing out on a win for ten consecutive Grands Prix, Max Verstappen managed to clinch the championship with two races to spare. The crowning moment came at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he triumphed by storming from the back of the grid in heavy rain.
His relentless performance in the second half of the season led him to claim during celebrations that he could have won the championship even if he had been driving a McLaren or a Ferrari.
However, it was Lando Norris, one of those left defeated, who attempted to debunk this theory. In an interview with *The Telegraph*, when asked if the four-time champion could have taken the title while driving a McLaren, the Briton replied: “No, absolutely not.” This, despite his view that Max is “the benchmark” for his generation and “one of the greatest of all time.”
He then explained his reasoning: “I mean, no one in the history of Formula 1 has ever come back from a deficit as large as the one I had. No one. Ever. And in the past, the swings in car performance have been much bigger than what we see today. The advantage they had at the start of the season was much larger than what we had after.”
That’s not to say the disappointment following Brazil wasn’t enormous. The Interlagos weekend had seemed like his big opportunity. After winning the Sprint race, he had cut the gap to 44 points, but starting from pole position in the main race, he ended up finishing sixth, while Verstappen claimed one of the most extraordinary victories of his career. The bitter pill of falling back to a 62-point deficit was so hard to swallow that Norris revealed he didn’t sleep for two days.
“I didn’t sleep for the first two days. So I think I was awake for something like 36-40 hours straight. And that probably made things worse. When you’re tired, you’re moodier, so it’s a kind of double effect,” Lando Norris admitted.
“I was sitting at home alone. It probably would’ve been better if I had been with my friends. But they don’t live in Monaco. They have their own lives and are busy with other things. And I’m a big overthinker, so throughout the flight back, throughout the week, I kept thinking and rethinking everything,” he continued.
“What could I have done differently? Why did I do that? Why didn’t I do this? You start thinking of every scenario, blaming yourself, and all that sort of stuff. I overthink, and that weighed even heavier in the following days. It wasn’t an easy time,” he added.
Despite this difficult period, Lando Norris remains convinced that this season, in which he achieved his first three victories in Formula 1, was still his best: “This year I’ve been more competitive than last year. My progression has been greater than in previous years. I think since the summer break, I’ve still made some mistakes—don’t get me wrong. But everyone makes mistakes from time to time, even world champions. But I believe I’ve performed at the required level.”
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