Max Verstappen joins the exclusive list of all-time F1 greats with a fourth world title — and this was his best
analysis
MBy Michael Doyle
Topic:Formula 1
At times this season, Max Verstappen and Red Bull were well off the pace, but they still managed to win another championship.
Michael Schumacher. Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel. Alain Prost. Juan Manuel Fangio.
This is the elite group of drivers who have won the Formula 1 drivers' championship four or more times. Max Verstappen now joins this illustrious group.
The son of a former driver, who seemed destined to race cars for a living, has been elevated from a modern-day great of the sport to one of its legends with his fourth successive world title.
It is a feat that is only achieved by the very best in F1, and even then, names like Senna, Lauda, Piquet and Brabham only have their names engraved three times on the F1 trophy.
But the mark of a true F1 great is not what you can do when you have the best car. It is how you can overcome setbacks to win.
That is what Verstappen achieved in 2024 and with adversity, this season's crown is arguably his best.
After a 2023 season where he won a record 19 grands prix and obliterated the field in a historically dominant year, Verstappen's 2024 crown comes without the fastest car on the grid.
At the end of this season, Verstappen is in the third-quickest car behind McLaren and Ferrari, and at some tracks is behind Mercedes as well.
It is a dramatic change in just 12 months, but it is a challenge that Verstappen has been forced to overcome.
It didn't seem that way at the start of the year when he won seven of the opening 10 grands prix.
But there were signs all was not well. It was apparent Red Bull was not the fastest car during this early season run, and it became dramatically clear once F1 was in Europe.
McLaren and Ferrari not only caught up to Red Bull but surpassed them, as Verstappen wrestled his steering wheel week after week just trying to keep his rivals in sight.
Lando Norris put up a spirited championship fight to Max Verstappen.
By the mid-year break, fans were wondering if Red Bull had a blimp, or was vulnerable. Once it was time to leave Europe at the beginning of September, there was a real chance Verstappen's big lead was going to be mowed down by McLaren's Lando Norris.
Verstappen had shown us he could win a title with the fastest car, now he had to prove he had the ability to hold onto his crown with inferior machinery.
And when he needed a solid team the most, at times, Verstappen did not have it.
Off track, Red Bull had been tearing apart at the seams during the 2024 season.
Team principal Christian Horner was at the centre of an allegation of workplace harassment that led to an investigation at the start of the year.
Horner was cleared of wrongdoing, but the cracks had opened internally.
Jos Verstappen, Max's father, was seen in a heated discussion with Horner as the saga continued to unfold.
This led to rumours of a power struggle within the team between Horner, who had the backing of Red Bull's Thai ownership, and advisor Helmut Marko, who was believed to be supported by Red Bull's Austrian ownership.
It was messy and at times was out in public.
There were rumours that Verstappen was going to leave the team, while Marko suggested he himself would be dismissed.
Meanwhile, Adrian Newey left the team. The greatest F1 car designer there ever was, and the man who built every car Red Bull has won a championship with, left the F1 operation and will be part of Aston Martin in the future.
Week after week, Verstappen cut a frustrated figure as he finished a long way off the winner.
Bit by bit, Verstappen's lead in the championship dwindled to the point where Lando Norris looked to be a genuine chance of snatching the king's crown.
The previous men who have claimed four or more championships all, at some point, overcame adversity to become world champions — 2024 was Max's turn to show he could be a champion in all circumstances.
Norris looked to land a massive blow in Brazil, starting on pole while Verstappen was a lowly 17th on the grid.
By the end of that Sunday afternoon, Norris's title dreams were all but over and Verstappen's legacy rose to that of F1 immortality.
Max Verstappen's performance in Brazil was one of the greatest victories of his career.
Verstappen's victory in the Sao Paulo rain was a masterclass of wet-weather driving.
The Sao Paulo Grand Prix was a war of attrition. Every lap, the drivers battled to keep four wheels on the circuit and not slide off into the barriers.
One driver didn't even survive the formation lap.
Meanwhile, Verstappen showed that he was in a different league to the rest of the field — with the exception of Hamilton.
Most drivers could only dream of putting on a display like Verstappen around the famous Interlagos circuit.
He had a bit of fortune with safety cars and a red flag, but in all reality, it did not much matter.
Once in the lead, Verstappen achieved the fastest lap, then did it again, and again.
The nine fastest laps of that race belonged to Max.
He was irresistible. He was mesmerising. He was all-time great.
Even the most hardened critic of Verstappen surely could not deny he achieved something only a handful of drivers could do.
In Formula 1, like any other sport, success is not guaranteed.
Only Schumacher has ever managed to win five championships in a row, and with Red Bull's struggles, it would be a mighty effort to win the title again. But Verstappen is one of the very few who could make it happen.
There is also no guarantee Verstappen will win the world championship again. That seems unlikely, but I'm sure fans in 2006 would be shocked to find out Fernando Alonso would still only be a two-time champion in 2024.
With that said, it means we must appreciate Verstappen now for his accomplishment.
Four world championships on the bounce is rare and it is special.
It is an achievement that some of F1's greatest could not achieve.
Even if Max Verstappen never wins another race, he is worthy of being considered F1's greatest driver.
That is the legacy he leaves after this world championship win — all-time greatness, cemented with dominance, brilliance and adversity.
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