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Verstappen recalls "painful" moment during 2024 F1 season
- Ludo van Denderen
For months McLaren had the faster car, but with five Grand Prix weekends to go, Lando Norris has not moved a step closer in the World Championship standings compared to the Miami race in early May. In fact, Max Verstappen's lead has grown. Looking back on the season Verstappen believes that is mainly due to being able to win races earlier this year that he really should not have won given the balance of power.
"Absolutely," Verstappen responded to that assumption. "I think we did really well in the middle of the season where we didn't have a winning car or a car that could be second. And I think we optimised quite a lot."
Verstappen recalls painful moment
Verstappen's thoughts go back to the race in Australia, where he retired and lost important points. "That's a very painful one to be retiring there. Otherwise, of course the championship would have looked even better. That’s why when you fight for the championship, you have to be on top of every single race. You can barely afford any mistakes, even when it is looking good. At that time, everyone thought I would just win it again very easily, and look where we are now," he added.
In the months after the Miami Grand Prix - in which there were signs for the first time that McLaren had become serious challengers - it was mainly due to Verstappen's qualities that the Dutchman stayed in the title race. "I'm happy with that. I always try to optimise and maximise the result. That's what I'm here for at the end of the day," Verstappen reflected on his own performance.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton