Verstappen says he could “very easily” have lost points lead after Miami GP · F1 · RaceFans

Max Verstappen clinched the Formula 1 drivers’ championship with two rounds to spare, but said it would have been easy for him to lose the points lead he built up early in the season.

The Red Bull driver headed the standings with 136 points after the sixth round of the championship in Miami. At that point his closest championship rival was team mate Sergio Perez on 103 points. Lando Norris, who was the last driver standing in the title fight, was 53 points down at that stage with 500 available.

Verstappen said his championship lead was vulnerable from that moment on. “From Miami onwards, most of the time we were not the quickest anymore,” he explained. “And Miami is still very early on in the season.

“So 50 points, 60 points, they can very easily be overturned if you keep maximising results and not do anything crazy. I’ve experienced that myself, being 30, 40 points down, I think, in ‘22.

“Anything is possible, so I had that always in the back of my mind, but at the same time, it’s just focus on what I could control within the team and just give it everything every single weekend.”

Verstappen’s championship lead over Norris peaked six races later at the British Grand Prix, by which time he was 84 points clear. Norris cut his lead to 44 points following the sprint race in Brazil, but Verstappen’s victory in the grand prix the following day – his first win for 11 rounds – virtually assured him of the championship.

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After securing his fourth world championship title in Las Vegas, Verstappen said it had been important to extend his lead on weekends when other teams were faster.

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“For 70% of the season we didn’t have the fastest car, but actually we still extended our lead,” he said. “So that is definitely something that I’m very proud of.”

He said he never allowed any doubt to creep in over whether he would ultimately clinch the championship. “You always have to believe in yourself,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a lot of people that have to come together and a lot of things that have to come together with the car.

“Especially in the middle of the season where we had a lot of issues where we didn’t really understand what was going on. But I’m also very happy and I’m proud of how the team reacted, responded, and turned it around a bit.

“At one point, it seemed like we were a little bit lost, but at least now it feels like it’s all a bit more normal. Of course, here in Vegas, I feel like it’s a very one-off event where it’s very cold and the track layout is also quite special. But in general, I do think that since Austin, we have turned it around a little bit and we’re a bit more in that fight again.

“All credit to the team for that. Of course, I know that it’s been quite a tough season for us overall, also the constructors, but at least we still won one championship.”

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