Stay informed on all the biggest stories in Formula One. Sign up here to receive the Prime Tire newsletter in your inbox every Monday and Friday.
LAS VEGAS — Twelve months ago, sat in the back of a Rolls Royce Phantom en route to the Bellagio Fountains, Max Verstappen was ready to toast his Las Vegas Grand Prix victory.
Flanked by Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc in the back seat, Verstappen jokingly asked the driver, “We go straight to the nightclub?” Long-crowned world champion, he was able to enjoy the moment.
This year, Verstappen was back in the same car, but for a few minutes, all alone. He’d not won the race, nor was he even on the podium. The top three finishers — George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz — were crammed into the rear of another Rolls Royce.
A second car had been reserved for Verstappen in case he clinched the championship but was not on the podium. Fifth place may not have his preferred result for reaching such a landmark career moment, but Verstappen didn’t care. It was enough to clinch his fourth F1 world championship.
Verstappen’s elation arrived immediately on the radio after crossing the line. His race engineer, GianPiero Lambiase, had reminded him throughout the race to remember the bigger picture — a subtle warning not to embroil himself in wheel-to-wheel fights that might put his title at risk. All he had to do was finish ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris to wrap up the championship.
It meant even as Verstappen slid backward from second place in the final stint of the race, his worn tires unable to give him the grip to keep Hamilton, Sainz or Charles Leclerc at bay in the closing stages, he knew it would be enough. Norris had struggled all race and was powerless to prevent his title defeat from being confirmed when the checkered flag came out on Lap 50.
Upon crossing the line, Verstappen felt immediate relief. It was over. A tough season where he’d struggled with a sub-par car would end with another crown.
Lambiase was the first to congratulate Verstappen over the radio, followed by team principal Christian Horner. “That is a phenomenal, phenomenal achievement,” Horner said. “You can be incredibly proud of yourself, as we are. Amazing. Well done.”
Verstappen chuckled. “Oh my God man, what a season,” he said. “Four times! Thank you, thank you guys, thank you to everyone. It’s a little bit more difficult than last year, but we pulled through and gave it our all. Thank you so much, guys.”
2024 was a far cry from the domination of last year. But it made the Las Vegas coronation no less special.
Growing up, the idea of winning even one world championship always seemed far-flung to Verstappen. To now be a four-time champion, with only three drivers — Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio — boasting more titles must have been beyond his wildest dreams.
And to have reached that landmark in Las Vegas, of all places, made it all the more surreal.
That ride to the Bellagio, the city’s famous fountain serving as a backdrop to his first interview as a four-time champion, gave Verstappen the chance to soak in the sights and consider his journey to date. One that started karting with his dad all those years ago, memories of which would inevitably have been running through his head as he sat in the car, already sporting a new champion baseball cap.
Lambiase eventually joined him in the back seat. Ever the perfectionist, Verstappen sought to discuss his struggle for rear brake balance amid their shared congratulation. In front of the fountains, he met with the actor Terry Crews and Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, to answer a few questions in front of F1’s TV cameras. “To stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought was possible,” Verstappen told them. “I’m feeling relieved in a way but also very proud.”
By the time Verstappen had completed the return journey to the F1 paddock, his Red Bull teammates were already sporting t-shirts reading ‘M4X’ on the front. On the short walk between the TV interview pen and the press conference room, somebody had worked a can of Heineken into Verstappen’s hand. The Dutchman had commented at least twice since crossing the line about how thirsty he felt, a nod to his wish to celebrate. He’d drained the can’s contents shortly before the cameras started rolling, hiding it behind the sofa.
“I ran out of beer,” Verstappen said when asked how he would celebrate. “So yeah, I don’t know. Maybe another one, and then maybe I switch to something else.” He joked, “The slogan ‘don’t drink and drive’ works very well — I don’t need to (drive) anymore (tonight).”
But while Verstappen would naturally have been excited about the title celebrations, he also reflected on what Horner had labeled his most impressive championship year to date. It was an assessment Verstappen agreed with, believing that for 70 percent of the year, Red Bull didn’t have the fastest car. “At one point it seemed like we were a little bit lost,” he said. “But at least now it feels like it’s all a bit more normal.” Recent times have made championship success ‘normal’ for Verstappen.
He also acknowledged the start to Red Bull’s year had been “messy,” referring to the off-track turbulence after allegations of controlling behavior were made against Horner by a female employee, with the grievance eventually being dismissed following an investigation by a King’s Counsel. As Verstappen had always maintained at the time, his focus was on performing the best he possibly could.
“I think it’s very difficult to disturb me with anything,” Verstappen said. “I’m very focused on the racing side of things. I know that when I sit in the car, I forget about everything. Positive, negative, (it can) stop. I just focus on what’s ahead of me, and that’s performance and drive the car as fast as I can.”
A fourth world title puts Verstappen in rarified air. But he has never been one to obsess over records, meaning the landmark of seven titles shared by Hamilton and Schumacher is not a target in mind. To him, being a champion is the same no matter how often you manage it.
“At the end of the day, winning one or seven, it’s the same thing, right?” he said. That first title in 2021 is unlikely ever to be surpassed, given that was when Verstappen realized his lifelong dream of being the F1 world champion.
Las Vegas 2024 will forever be a significant race in Verstappen’s F1 career, even if he won’t remember the result and performance itself too fondly. “When I look back at this season, probably in 20 years’ time when I’m retired, Las Vegas ’24 as a race is not going to be in my top 10,” he admitted. “But it’s still very special to win it here.”
A tougher test will surely follow in 2025, given the form of Red Bull’s rivals throughout this season. Verstappen said he was “very excited to see what we can do next year” when he bids for a fifth consecutive crown, something Schumacher has only achieved. “But for now, I’m just going to enjoy the moment.”
And with that, Verstappen was given one final congratulations by the news conference MC, before fishing behind the sofa for his empty can and going in search of a replacement. His thirst still required quenching.
In Las Vegas, of all places, on a Saturday night, there’ll be no shortage of opportunities to do exactly that.
Top photo: Mark Thompson / Getty Images, ANP via Getty Images, Clive Mason/ Formula 1 via Getty Images, Rudy Carezzevoli / Stringer, via Getty Images; Design: Kelsea Petersen/The Athletic
