In his seventh full season in motorsport’s top flight, Max Verstappen managed to win his first world title. After a thrilling battle that lasted all season, the Red Bull driver went head-to-head with his rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and emerged victorious, not without controversy.
Thanks to a late and controversial safety car, Verstappen put himself in position to launch an attack on Hamilton on the final lap and overtook him at the first opportunity. After that move, he fended off a double counterattack from the Briton to finish crossing the checkered flag in first position, becoming the first F1 world champion from the Netherlands.
The decisive overtaking action once again showed how determined Verstappen was to win the world title. It’s a characteristic that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko also saw in other great champions like Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
“You can’t compare them, because they all raced in different eras. But what they all have is a total focus, which can also be called relentlessness. There is nothing more to them than ‘I want to win and I will do everything to get it.'”
“They go beyond the possibilities that normally exist. As an example, Max’s qualifying session in Jeddah comes to mind, although it didn’t work out back then.”
Although that Saturday in Saudi Arabia he ended up in tears after an accident at the last corner, until that moment the Dutchman was on a lap that clearly would have given him pole position.
“He exceeded the limit of the car so much that you could even see it visually. In racing, Hamilton should already know that with Verstappen you have to keep even the smallest hole covered. This incredible willpower, coupled with the talent that he also is, marks the difference,” said Helmut Marko to finish.
