Verstappen wrapped up his second F1 drivers’ crown with victory in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, taking an unassailable points lead with four races remaining.
With 12 wins, Verstappen dominated the proceedings throughout the year, shaking off early points leader Leclerc in the summer races.
Leclerc retired while leading in Spain and Azerbaijan due to problems with his car, but he was fully responsible for the mistake that saw him start in the lead at the French GP.
The mistake opened the door for Verstappen to win the race in France and take a 63-point lead over Leclerc at the top of the drivers’ championship.
Reflecting on his title win after the Suzuka race, Verstappen said there were “a few moments when I thought we had a good chance” of winning the championship.
But he revealed it was after that run at Paul Ricard that he became confident of securing a second world title this year.
“The moment I thought now that we were going to win was I think after Paul Ricard, where the lead increased significantly,” Verstappen said.
“We had a pretty competitive car, we knew it was going to be pretty tight, in the races to come, but I was like, this is a gap that we can’t give away anymore.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st, lifts his trophy
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Victory in France would mark the start of a five-game winning streak for Verstappen as Red Bull slipped away from Ferrari’s level of performance.
This included recovery drives in Hungary, where Verstappen started 10th, and Belgium, where a power unit change dropped Verstappen to 14th on the grid but couldn’t stop him from picking up a win. dominant.
Verstappen chose his victory at Spa as the high point of his championship charge.
“I have to go for the weekend at Spa because I think it was just total domination,” he said.
“These kind of weekends, it happens very rarely like that. And especially when I got home that night, you start to think a little about the weekend.
“You realize that was, yeah, pretty crazy and pretty special.”
Verstappen wrapped up his second F1 drivers’ crown with victory in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, taking an unassailable points lead with four races remaining.
With 12 wins, Verstappen dominated the proceedings throughout the year, shaking off early points leader Leclerc in the summer races.
Leclerc retired while leading in Spain and Azerbaijan due to problems with his car, but he was fully responsible for the mistake that saw him start in the lead at the French GP.
The mistake opened the door for Verstappen to win the race in France and take a 63-point lead over Leclerc at the top of the drivers’ championship.
Reflecting on his title win after the Suzuka race, Verstappen said there were “a few moments when I thought we had a good chance” of winning the championship.
But he revealed it was after that run at Paul Ricard that he became confident of securing a second world title this year.
“The moment I thought now that we were going to win was I think after Paul Ricard, where the lead increased significantly,” Verstappen said.
“We had a pretty competitive car, we knew it was going to be pretty tight, in the races to come, but I was like, this is a gap that we can’t give away anymore.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st, lifts his trophy
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Victory in France would mark the start of a five-game winning streak for Verstappen as Red Bull slipped away from Ferrari’s level of performance.
This included recovery drives in Hungary, where Verstappen started 10th, and Belgium, where a power unit change dropped Verstappen to 14th on the grid but couldn’t stop him from picking up a win. dominant.
Verstappen chose his victory at Spa as the high point of his championship charge.
“I have to go for the weekend at Spa because I think it was just total domination,” he said.
“These kind of weekends, it happens very rarely like that. And especially when I got home that night, you start to think a little about the weekend.
“You realize that was, yeah, pretty crazy and pretty special.”