Max receives trophy for fourth world title in Formula 1: 'Proud'
Published on 13 December 2024 by Florence Cobben
On Friday afternoon Max Verstappen received his fourth world championship title. In a hall filled with motorsport greats in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, Max received his fourth championship trophy during the FIA Awards Ceremony 2024.
On the podium, trophy in hand, Max reflects on the past racing year, where he won nine Grands Prix and collected 437 points: “All of (the championships) are very different, which I think makes it always very special. For us it’s been quite a challenging year, so to be standing here, still winning the title… I’m very proud. We didn’t have the best middle of the season., but the end of the season was a bit more competitive.”
Max elaborates: “The competition did a great job, they improved their cars a lot. That made it a lot more difficult for us, especially in the constructors. But even when we were under pressure, when we had tough times, the team stuck together. We didn’t panic, which could easily be done in those kinds of situations. But at the end of the day I’m just very proud… very proud of everyone in the team.”
“We just need to work hard to try to improve the car. We have a lot of ideas we want to implement, and then I hope that when we hit the ground running next year we can be competitive again and fight for the wins. But it will be very tight, I think, between a lot of the teams up front. I think for the championship, that’s great.”
With four championship titles, Max joins the ranks of Formula 1 greats like Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel. The Dutch Oracle Red Bull Racing-driver responds: “As a kid, when you grow up, you don’t think about these things. You look at the names and think ‘Wow, that’s really impressive, I hope one day I can be on the podium!’ But, sometimes you get lucky in life... you’re in the right place at the right time. Luckily I’ve been able to do that. It’s amazing. Four titles is incredible. Of course I also hope it doesn’t stop here, that we can be successful over a longer period of time. For the moment it’s very important to enjoy the moment, be proud of what we have achieved, also as a team, and try again next year.”