Max Verstappen wins world title: Why his 'almost flawless' season is 'towering achievement'

Max Verstappen received widespread acclaim after securing his fourth world title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. His competitors lined up to praise this remarkable accomplishment from a driver hailed as one of the greatest in the history of Formula 1.

All of Verstappen's competitors acknowledged his achievements for what they truly are—an exceptional season from a driver who, for most of the year, didn't have the top car.

Lando Norris, who was his nearest competitor, expressed his admiration by saying, "Huge congratulations to him. He truly deserves it. He hasn’t made a single mistake all year. That’s one of his strengths—he has no weaknesses."

"When he's had the fastest car, he has easily taken control of the races. Even when his car hasn't been the fastest, he's consistently stayed close and nearly clinched victories. He hasn't had a single poor performance this year. He's driven as he always does—flawlessly—and there's really nothing to criticize about his racing."

"Outstanding," remarked George Russell, a Mercedes driver who claimed victory in the race illuminated by the lights of Las Vegas. "He had a powerful car at the beginning of the season and secured victories when it mattered most, but he likely felt that a championship win was out of reach."

"He consistently performed at a high level and achieved the results that the car was capable of, unlike his competitors. I expected it to be a close race until the end, but it turned out differently."

Russell's teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who had an intense battle for the championship with Verstappen in 2021, praised him, saying, "He's done an incredible job, hasn't made any errors, and consistently performed when it counted. I'm really pleased for him."

Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull, expressed his opinion that Verstappen's current title is his finest among the four he has won.

Verstappen considers 2023, the year he and Red Bull set numerous records for dominance in Formula 1, to be "my best season." He remarked, "Last year, we had a strong car, but I often sensed that our team's accomplishments weren't fully recognized. While our car performed exceptionally well, it wasn't quite as unbeatable as many believe."

I’ll always remember that time, because even when our racing setup wasn’t ideal, we were still able to secure victories thanks to the car's great performance.

"I take great pride in this season as well, especially considering that for about 70% of the time, we didn’t have the quickest car. Despite that, we were still able to increase our lead, which is an achievement I’m truly proud of."

This is what sets exceptional drivers apart: they push their cars beyond their limits, taking them to places that may seem unlikely, and they manage to do this time and again, race after race. They achieve impressive results even when it looks like success might be out of reach.

Even though McLaren was gaining momentum and there were occasional threats from Ferrari and Mercedes, Verstappen stayed completely focused on his goals.

"After Miami," he mentioned, "we often found ourselves not being the fastest anymore, and this happened fairly early in the season. A gap of 50-60 points can be closed easily if you consistently score points and avoid taking unnecessary risks."

I went through that same situation in 2022. It's true that anything can happen. I kept that thought in my mind, concentrated on what I could influence, and fully dedicated myself every weekend.

The basic numbers surrounding race victories reveal a lot about Verstappen’s performance. He claimed victory in four out of the first five races and secured seven wins in the initial ten. However, there was a stretch of five months, spanning ten grand prix events, where he didn’t manage to win any races.

When he finally ended his long wait, he did so with a performance that will be remembered as one of the best ever. In the heavy rain of Sao Paulo, he clinched victory starting from 17th place on the grid.

However, simply looking at the race results doesn't fully capture the extent of Verstappen's accomplishment. To truly understand it, we need to analyze the performance of the cars driven by both championship contenders in more detail.

Throughout the entire season, the Red Bull remains the quickest car, outperforming others in a single qualifying lap by an average margin of 0.078 seconds.

However, that figure is distorted due to the significant lead that Red Bull had at the beginning of the year.

In the initial four races, the Red Bull outpaced the McLaren by an average of 0.436 seconds, and it was also 0.265 seconds faster than the Ferrari, which was the second fastest car at that time.

If you exclude the first four races, McLaren actually comes out as the quickest, with a margin of just 0.006 seconds. This difference grows even larger the more early-season races you remove from the equation. By the time we reach the second half of the season, McLaren is showing an average speed advantage of 0.124 seconds.

Even though the McLaren gained speed after the Miami upgrades, Verstappen still secured victories in Imola, Spain, and Canada.

Despite that performance snapshot, when looking at the entire season, Verstappen maintains a better average qualifying position compared to Norris, with scores of 2.8 and 3.4, respectively.

That’s just the basic speed. What’s even more astounding is how often Verstappen was able to get the most out of his performance. It’s rare to see a race where he and Red Bull didn’t extract the best possible results from the car. In contrast, Norris and McLaren acknowledge that in Canada, Silverstone, and Monza, they could have performed better than they did. Additionally, there were several other races where slight differences had a significant impact on the final outcomes.

Andrea Stella, the principal of the McLaren team, is someone well-acquainted with success, exceeding expectations, and the value of maintaining consistency.

He served as Michael Schumacher's race engineer at Ferrari during the time the German driver claimed five championship titles in a row.

He played a similar part for Fernando Alonso in 2012 when the Spanish driver fought for the championship in what was the fourth fastest car. It was an unforgettable season, and if fairness had prevailed in sports, Alonso would have emerged as the champion instead of Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull.

Now he has had to witness Verstappen achieving the same success with his own team.

"Winning four consecutive world championships solidifies Max's status as one of the finest drivers in Formula 1 history," Stella remarked. "This title is particularly significant for him, especially since in the past—like last year—some might have believed that winning races was simple when driving the best car. However, consistently achieving victories is anything but easy."

There are countless factors that can lead to mistakes. Last year, both the driver and the team were performing at an exceptional level. However, this year, even when he didn't have the best equipment, his ability to make the most of race weekends clearly shows that we are in the era of Max Verstappen. He truly deserves all the success he is experiencing.

Verstappen acknowledged Norris's hard work while also highlighting the contrast between their two seasons.

"We have an abundance of amazing young talent in this sport, and Lando is certainly among them. There were moments when he really challenged me," he commented. "In several races, we just couldn't find a solution because they were obviously quicker, which made things tough for us."

"To achieve a championship, maintaining consistency is key, and there are times when you aim to exceed your usual level of performance. While this can’t be expected every weekend, there are moments when you can indeed accomplish it—and that’s exactly what we achieved."

"Right now, McLaren is performing exceptionally well. Competing against a friend like Lando for the championship brings a unique dynamic. We hold a great deal of respect for one another, and I’m confident we will have many duels ahead."

Verstappen's four back-to-back championships have been achieved under a variety of conditions.

Throughout the entire year, Verstappen battled fiercely with Lewis Hamilton, and he ultimately secured his victory in a contentious finish in Abu Dhabi, where the race director disregarded several regulations.

In 2022, he faced the challenge of Ferrari's strong start, but he went on to excel in the latter half of the season. This momentum carried over into 2023 and the beginning of the current season. Even when his car's performance edge started to diminish, he utilized all his skills to keep his position at the front.

Norris expressed his pride in the team for their perseverance and how well they managed to close the gap during the competition.

At the start of the season, we were ranked as the fourth-best team. Unfortunately, we faced a significant gap that proved impossible to close, especially since our competitors have remained so strong.

While they recognize Verstappen's talent, others believe that with the right car, they have what it takes to challenge him.

"No one is invincible," Russell remarked. "There are times when certain teams and drivers seem to have it all figured out, leading people to think, ‘If I were next to them, I wouldn't stand a chance against them.'"

"You need to have confidence in yourself. When I partnered with Lewis, who is considered the best ever, I realized that Max is also among the top contenders. This makes me believe that Max can be defeated too."