Max Verstappen is world champion again. This is what his difficult season looked like

A few thousand times to the left, a few thousand times to the right. From the first hairpin bend under the artificial lights of Bahrain to the final fast bend to the left this Sunday in Las Vegas, there have been 23,631 corners on the program so far this Formula 1 season. And now Max Verstappen, who took all but 770, can call himself world champion, just like in 2021, 2022 and 2023: his lead in the rankings over Lando Norris is now so big that he can no longer be overtaken.

These four corners tell the story of Max Verstappen’s championship year.

May 19: Variante Villeneuve, Imola. Round 58 of the Emilia-Romagna GP

Lando Norris has been seeing the dark blue car in front of him on the track getting bigger for laps. 6 seconds, 5 seconds – and now he is only 1.6 seconds behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

At almost 300 kilometers per hour, Norris in his orange McLaren approaches the Villeneuve bend, a fast left-right chicane. A week after Norris won his first race in Miami, a second victory beckons. There is no question of saving tires at the moment. The 24-year-old Brit goes all out, floating with his car in the razor-thin area between crashing and being too slow.

Just a few weeks earlier, Norris could only dream of such a pursuit of Verstappen. After all, the Dutchman had started the season in March just as dominantly as he had ended 2023. A rare retirement in Australia, due to a broken brake, was only an annoying interruption between big victories in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China. All flawless performances in a car, the RB20, that was clearly the fastest in the field.

But then Norris suddenly took victory in Miami at the beginning of May. In itself no reason for panic at Red Bull. Well, Norris’ McLaren MCL38, equipped with a package of new parts, was really fast on the street circuit in Florida; He mainly owed his victory to a safety car that was perfectly timed for him, which meant he barely lost any time with his pit stop and ended up ahead of Verstappen.

A week later it becomes clear that there is more going on. On Imola, an old-fashioned tight track that winds through an Italian residential area and a park, Verstappen initially drives away from Norris. But in the final phase his front tires wear out quickly, and Norris closes the gap.

With six laps to go, Norris steers into the Villeneuve chicane. A quick steering movement to the left, and then to the right. The g-forces push him against the sides of the cockpit. As soon as Norris steps on the accelerator, the more than 1,000 hp Mercedes engine overwhelms the rear tires, which immediately slide away. A few centimeters from the gravel pit bothers the McLaren for a moment. In the blink of an eye, Norris counters, purely on reflexes. He immediately regains control of the car.

Norris is 0.7 seconds short at the finish. But the abandon with which Norris throws his car during the fiery chase through Villeneuve makes one thing clear: the hunt is on.

June 30: Turn 3, Red Bull Ring. Round 64 of the Austrian GP

The asphalt climbs steeply for hundreds of meters and then bends sharply to the right. The perfect opportunity to dive into your opponent’s wake, steer next to him at the last moment and brake just a little later. If you want to overtake on the Red Bull Ring, the rolling course in the eastern foothills of the Alps, Turn 3 is your best chance.

Norris has already made a few unsuccessful attempts on the inside of Verstappen, who he is hot on his heels, just like in Imola. Now, eight laps before the finish, Norris throws his car wide on the outside. Side by side, they both put their full weight on the brake pedal to reduce the speed from over 300 to 70 kilometers per hour within a hundred meters.

Max Verstappen during the race in Las Vegas where he became champion. Photo Chris Graythen/AFP

And a shock goes through the cars. To make things difficult for Norris, Verstappen moved his car outside, leaving just enough space. But Norris is a few millimeters further to the right than Verstappen expected. Their rear tires touch each other. A puff of blue smoke rises. The cars go into the bend bouncing on their wheels.

At that point, no one doubts anymore that the turnaround is real. McLaren has closed the gap with Red Bull. During the race in Austria, Verstappen also initially has a small lead, and towards the end Norris is right behind his rear wing again. A slow pit stop does not help Verstappen, but Norris only gets faster as the race progresses. His McLaren suffers much less from tire wear – which will remain an important advantage as the season progresses.

Verstappen and Norris will regularly fight duels on the track in 2024, with Verstappen often being the defending party. The McLaren is gradually getting better, while Red Bull’s updates do not work well. And while Verstappen was able to leave his bag of tricks with daring combat maneuvers in storage in recent years, he desperately needs it again now that Norris keeps popping up in his mirrors.

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Wheel-to-wheel, Verstappen still proves to be a brilliant street fighter. He has a perfect sense of where to position his car to keep faster opponents behind him on paper. Changing lines (too) late, leaving no room so that the other person has to leave the track: he also appears to be far from shying away from the daring maneuvers that previously made him infamous. There are again much-discussed clashes with Norris in Austin and Mexico City at the end of October.

The Briton is the big loser in Austria. Like Verstappen, he suffered a flat tire in the collision in turn three. Verstappen comes fifth after a pit stop, Norris drops out because rotating rubber fragments have smashed the rear of his car to pieces. Although he did not have the best car, Verstappen is still ahead in the points standings.

July 21: Turn 1, Hungaroring. Round 63 of the Hungarian Grand Prix

Verstappen has been at it the entire race grumbling and complaining over the on-board radio. He has lost places due to a poor pit stop strategy and his RB20 is not running well. In the first corner of the scorching hot circuit just outside Budapest, it looks to the outside world as if frustration is getting the best of him for a moment.

Although he is at least three car lengths behind Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen ventures into the slow one hairpin an attempt to catch up for third place. To bridge the large gap, Verstappen brakes extra late – so late that it is impossible for him to make the corner. With the front tires blocking, he shoots straight ahead. His rear wheel hits Hamilton’s front wheel. The Red Bull flies through the air and hits the asphalt hard. Miraculously, there is no damage. Verstappen finishes ingloriously fifth.

For most of 2024, Verstappen will have to make do with a car that does not do what he wants. When Verstappen pushes it through the corners at the limit of tire grip, the RB20 is an unpredictable car despite all kinds of adjustments and new parts. That costs trust, and therefore speed.

Sometimes Verstappen also suffers from understeer: loss of grip on the front tires, which prevents the car from turning. It cost him victory in front of his own crowd at Zandvoort at the end of August, where Norris overtook him and won by a landslide. And also in Hungary, Verstappen can barely drag his car through the corners.

While he is forced into a corner struggling with his car, sloppiness sometimes creeps into Verstappen’s races. Also in Mexicowhere the Red Bull is also unable to get ahead, he is overtaken by Norris early in the race. A few corners later he forces the Brit off the track with an impatient-looking and, above all, hopeless overtaking maneuver.

Max Verstappen during the race in Las Vegas. Photo Shawn Thew/EPA

Yet the incidents in Hungary and Mexico are exceptions. Usually Verstappen calmly shrugs it off if his car is not good. If he can’t finish first, then fourth. Thanks to that consistency, he continues to steadily collect points in the second half of the season.

Verstappen’s luck is that Norris often fails to take advantage of Red Bull’s vulnerability. In addition to Miami and Zandvoort, the McLaren driver also wins the race in Singapore in September. But he also loses the lead time and time again when he starts from pole position. And too often his team makes tactical mistakes. For example, Norris may miss four or five victories. Each time other drivers take the victory, so that Verstappen’s large lead – built up by winning seven of the first ten races when his car was still performing well – is only slowly shrinking.

3 november: Curva do Sol, Interlagos. Round 1 Grand Prix van São Paulo

A train of cars slithers gingerly over the soaking wet asphalt on the inside of the Curva do Sol. It is the third corner that the F1 field takes after the start, about twenty seconds earlier. In the long arc to the left, the drivers press the accelerator with the utmost caution. They want to accelerate out of the corner as fast as possible, but must be careful not to give too much gas and spin off the track with the rear wheels slipping.

But how much grip does the rain-soaked circuit offer, and how deep can the accelerator pedal be pressed? Nobody knows exactly. Although one man seems to sense it better than the rest.

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On the outside of the bend Verstappen steams the train passes at a much higher speed. Adept as he is in the art of driving in the rain, Verstappen immediately realized that that is where the most grip can be found, apart from the rubber layer on the normal racing line that has become very slippery due to the rain.

It turns out to be a harbinger for the rest of the race. Starting fifteenth on the grid, Verstappen is already tenth after just over one lap. And while almost every driver shoots off the track at least once in the showers that pass through Interlagos, Verstappen keeps his Red Bull on track for 69 laps. He drives, with the rest far behind, to his first victory in eleven races; one of the best victories of his career.

Norris starts from pole position in Brazil and has an excellent opportunity to make the title fight really exciting. However, after a mediocre race, in which he again made mistakes, he only finished sixth. Norris can forget the championship.

Verstappen celebrates his championship, just after the finish in Las Vegas. Photo Mike Blake/Reuters

The instinctive way in which Verstappen immediately senses how to deal with treacherous circumstances in the Curva do Sol is perhaps the best symbol for the way he won his fourth world championship. In São Paulo, Verstappen shows his great adaptability.

That flexibility, as well as his speed itself, was decisive during a season in which he drove a dominant car in only five of the twenty-four races. The rest of the time he battled with the stubborn, difficult to drive Red Bull. But while many drivers, and not least his dramatically performing teammate Sergio Pérez, would succumb to such a fight, Verstappen learned to live with his car.

Verstappen showed in 2024 that he has enough talent and experience – enough pure feeling for how cars behave at the edge of what is physically possible – to remain the best in the world even with less material.

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Considering the​ shift in power dynamics ⁢between Red Bull and McLaren in 2024, does Verstappen’s fourth championship‌ signify⁣ a changing era in Formula 1, or a temporary blip in Red Bull’s reign?

This⁢ is a⁢ great article⁤ about Max Verstappen’s 2024 Formula 1 season! It highlights his struggles with a less-dominant Red Bull ‍car, his fierce rivalry with Lando Norris, and his ultimate triumph in securing a fourth world championship. To spark⁣ a fruitful discussion based on‌ this article, here’s ‍a breakdown of potential⁢ interview questions divided by theme:

**Theme 1:⁤ Verstappen vs. Norris:⁢ The New Rivalry**

* How did Lando Norris challenge⁤ Max Verstappen‌ in 2024, and how ⁤did ⁣this rivalry change the dynamics of the championship ‌compared to previous seasons?

* What were the key differences in driving style ⁣and‍ car performance between‌ Verstappen and Norris? Did their approaches reflect their respective team strategies?

* The article ‍mentions “daring maneuvers” by Verstappen. To what extent were these maneuvers acceptable within the rules of racing, and did they contribute to a more exciting spectacle for ⁤fans?

* Do you think Norris had the ⁤potential to win the Championship in 2024? What were the factors that ultimately​ prevented him from mounting a more⁤ serious challenge?

**Theme 2: Verstappen’s ​Adaptability and Resilience**

* The article emphasizes Verstappen’s ability to adapt to a less-dominant car. How did he modify his driving ​style to⁢ compensate for the RB20’s weaknesses?

* What were the most​ striking examples of Verstappen’s mental fortitude and consistency throughout the season, particularly when facing setbacks and frustration?

* How did Verstappen’s experience and understanding of tire management contribute to his success, particularly in contrast‍ to Norris​ and ‌other drivers?

**Theme 3: The 2024 ​F1 Season – A ⁢Turning Point?**

* Did the​ 2024 F1 season ‌mark a significant ‌shift⁤ in the balance of power within the sport, with McLaren emerging as a legitimate​ contender against Red Bull?

* Where does⁣ Red Bull go ‍from here? What developments are needed for them to reclaim their dominant position?

* Has the intensity ⁤of the Verstappen-Norris rivalry set ‌a new standard for‌ future F1 seasons, potentially attracting a wider audience and increased interest in ‌the sport?

Let me know if you would like me to develop any of these questions further or explore additional themes‌ within the article!