Max Verstappen became Formula 1 world champion for the first time at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the race.
The movement was, like the Red Bull team boss himself, miraculous, because the Mercedes driver dominated the entire test, and only the safety car caused by Nicholas Latifi opened the possibility for the Dutchman to take the title.
Verstappen, in addition to winning the world championship, dragged thousands and thousands of fans around each circuit on the calendar, all wearing orange flags and shirts for the nationality of the young driver.
Despite being born in Belgium, the Red Bull competes under the nationality of the Netherlands, where he has been chosen athlete of the year. The rider edged out BMX and track riders Niek Kimmann and Harrie Lavreysen .
The new world champion could not attend to collect the award, and instead it was his father, Jos , who was also a Formula 1 driver in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Minardi, Arrows or Benetton, among others, spoke about how their son was after achieving the world crown.
“He’s on vacation, he was a bit tired, he had to work really hard for it,” Jos acknowledged. “It was a difficult year, also emotionally, after winning the title, a lot of feelings surfaced. Last week he was still a bit tired, and he had a lot of things to do, so he’s happy to be on vacation.”
The end of the race at Yas Marina was one of the most exciting in the history of the category, with Verstappen’s father acknowledging that the championship was almost lost: “After five or six laps, I left [the garage]. I thought : ‘Today nothing is going to happen'”.
“We lacked speed, I went upstairs to sit alone in a small room where there was a television with the lap times. Five laps from the end, everything started to liven up a bit with the Latifi accident, and the safety car came in,” he said. .
“I started jumping with a friend who came to the room with me, there was an opportunity. I know Max, and when he has an opportunity, he goes for it, it’s all or nothing, and we saw how it ended.”
Verstappen won the title at the age of 24, becoming the fourth youngest driver to do so. His father, despite being proud of the feat, admits that he does not remember what he said to him: “I don’t know anymore, there were a lot of emotions.”
“We have been working for this for twenty years, for twelve I have been around the world with him, our dream was to be the F1 world champion, and that was the moment. I could see that it was very emotional for him, for both of us it was a great moment be there”.
His father continued to praise the Red Bull man: “I was surprised by how he manages everything. He is able to be very calm, while I am paying attention to everything. I am more concerned about what is happening in the race than he is, and he tells me : ‘Dad, calm down, I know what I’m doing'”.
Max Verstappen was one of the contenders to take the championship at the beginning of 2021, but Jos says he would never have imagined that his son could drag so many fans.
“At the beginning it looked very good, we felt we had a good car, but for it to end like this was our dream, and now it has come true. He has won the title, and everything after that is a bonus,” he said.
“I hope we have a good car, because everything depends on that, and knowing how it is, it will go all out next season. This is a team sport, there are 850 people working at Red Bull, and everyone does their best. they can to create a fast car. So I hope he has good weapons to defend his title.”
