The Dutch driver overtook Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to snatch victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that brought the curtain down on the 2021 season, proclaiming himself Formula 1 world champion after reaching the last round on equal points.
Immediately after the race, the Red Bull Racing driver revealed that he had battled pain due to leg cramps he suffered during the intense final moments of the race.
But in an interview published in The Guardian newspaper on Tuesday, Verstappen revealed how much he was suffering and how difficult it would have been if the race had lasted longer.
The difficulties he encountered when applying the throttle could be seen in the telemetry data, something that led him to wonder how much longer he could have continued at full throttle.
“If you look at the data, you won’t see very smooth acceleration progress. I was screaming on the radio [after the win], but the whole lap my foot just couldn’t take it anymore,” he said.
“One more lap and I couldn’t have finished the race like this. The stress levels were so high in the last lap that the body probably reacts to that. But you can’t give up.”
Reflecting on those final moments, knowing there was only one lap to go, Verstappen said: “I thought: ‘I need to overtake him. There’s only one option here. I’m not going to finish second.'”
“I tried to be really focused on it from the restart. Everything was working fine until I crossed the finish line and started getting leg cramps. It’s one of the most painful things that can happen because you’re going full throttle for a long time frame”.
“You feel the muscle contract and become like a tennis ball. Of course the adrenaline helps because if it happens when you’re walking, you can’t move. It’s impossible.”
“But there was no choice; I had to. So I was keeping the throttle wide open and I could feel my leg hurting more and more. Luckily turn five came around and I went for the [overtaking] move. I had like three seconds to be without stepping on the accelerator”.
“Then I had two very long straights ahead of me and on the second one where Lewis came at me, I could feel my foot vibrating. I couldn’t control it because the muscle was spasming. My foot in the last sector was like this [performed a trembling movement]”.
Finally, referring to whether he felt his title had been overshadowed by controversy, Verstappen said: “Not at all. I had a very good season and I think I really deserved it. I’ve also had very bad luck. People always remember the last race but, if you look at the whole season, the championship should have been decided much sooner,” he concluded.
