Inside Max Verstappen’s Las Vegas F1 title: Relief, elation and beer

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LAS VEGAS — Twelve months ago, Max Verstappen was in the back of a Rolls Royce Phantom heading to the Bellagio fountains, ready to toast his Las Vegas Grand Prix victory.

Flanked by Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc in the back seat, Verstappen jokingly asked the driver: “Are we going straight to the nightclub?” Long crowned world champion, he could enjoy the moment.

This year, Verstappen was back in the same car, but for a few minutes, all alone. He hadn’t won the race, nor was he even on the podium. The top three – George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz – were crammed together in the back of another Rolls Royce.

Another car had been reserved for Verstappen if he won the championship but was not on the podium. Fifth place might not be his preferred result to achieve such a defining career moment, but Verstappen didn’t care. It was enough to win his fourth F1 world championship.

Verstappen’s excitement immediately arrived on the radio after crossing the line. His race engineer, GianPiero Lambiase, had been reminding him throughout the race to remember the bigger picture – a subtle warning not to get involved in wheel-to-wheel battles that could jeopardize his title. All he had to do was finish ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris to wrap up the championship.

It meant that even as Verstappen slipped backwards from second in the race’s final stint, his worn tires unable to give him the grip to hold off Hamilton, Sainz or Charles Leclerc in the closing stages, he knew it would be enough. Norris had struggled throughout the race and was powerless to prevent his title defeat from being confirmed when the checkered flag came out on lap 50.

When he crossed the line, Verstappen felt immediate relief. It was over. A tough season in which he had struggled with a lesser car would end with another crown.

Lambiase was the first to congratulate Verstappen over the radio, followed by team manager Christian Horner. “It’s a phenomenal, phenomenal achievement,” Horner said. “You can be incredibly proud of yourself, as we are. Amazing. Well done.”

Verstappen laughed. “Oh my God man, what a season,” he said. “Four times! Thanks, thanks guys, thanks everybody. It’s a little harder than last year, but we did it and gave it our all. Thanks a lot, guys.”

2024 was far from last year’s dominance. But that didn’t make the Las Vegas coronation any less special.

Growing up, the idea of ​​winning another world championship always seemed far-fetched to Verstappen. To now be a four-time champion, with only three drivers – Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio – holding multiple titles must have been beyond his wildest dreams.

And to have reached that landmark in Las Vegas, of all places, made it all the more surreal.

That trip to Bellagio, the city’s famous fountain that served as the backdrop for his first interview as a four-time champion, gave Verstappen the chance to take in the sights and reflect on his journey to date. One who started go-karting with his father all those years ago, the memories of which would have inevitably raced through his head as he sat in the car, already wearing a new championship baseball cap.

Lambiase eventually joined him in the back seat. Verstappen, ever the perfectionist, tried to discuss his struggle for rear brake balance amid their shared congratulations. In front of the fountains, he met with actor Terry Crews and Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, to answer a few questions in front of the F1 TV cameras. “To stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought possible,” Verstappen told them. “I feel relieved in a way, but also very proud.”

By the time Verstappen had completed the return journey to the F1 paddock, his Red Bull teammates were already sporting t-shirts with ‘M4X’ emblazoned across the front. On the short walk between the TV interview pen and the press conference room, someone had put a can of Heineken in Verstappen’s hand. The Dutchman had commented at least twice since crossing the line about how thirsty he felt, a nod to his desire to celebrate. He had emptied the contents of the can shortly before the cameras started rolling and hid it behind the sofa.

“I ran out of beer,” Verstappen said when asked how he would celebrate. “So yeah, I don’t know. Maybe one more, and then maybe I’ll switch to something else.” He joked, “The slogan ‘don’t drink and drive’ works very well – I don’t have to (drive) anymore (tonight).”

But while Verstappen would naturally have been delighted with the title celebrations, he also reflected on what Horner had described as his most impressive championship year to date. It was an assessment that Verstappen agreed with, believing that for 70 percent of the year Red Bull did not have the fastest car. “At one point it seemed like we were a little lost,” he said. “But at least now it feels like it’s all a little more normal.” Recent times have made championship success ‘normal’ for Verstappen.

He also acknowledged that the start to Red Bull’s year had been “messy”, citing the off-field turbulence after allegations of controlling behavior were made against Horner by a female employee, with the complaint eventually dismissed following an investigation by a Royal adviser. As Verstappen had always maintained at the time, his focus was on doing the best he possibly could.

“I think it’s very difficult to upset me with anything,” Verstappen said. “I’m very focused on the racing side of things. I know when I’m in the car I forget everything. Positive, negative, (it can) stop. I just focus on what’s in front of me and that’s performance and drive the car as fast as I can.”

A fourth world championship puts Verstappen in good spirits. But he has never been record-obsessed, meaning the seven-title mark shared by Hamilton and Schumacher is not a goal in mind. To him, being champion is the same no matter how often you make it.

“At the end of the day, winning one or seven, it’s the same, right?” he said. The first title in 2021 is unlikely to ever be surpassed as it was when Verstappen realized his lifelong dream of becoming F1 world champion.

Las Vegas 2024 will forever be a significant race in Verstappen’s F1 career, although he will not remember the actual result and performance fondly. “When I look back on this season, probably in 20 years when I’m retired, the Las Vegas ’24 as a race will not be in my top 10,” he admitted. “But it’s still very special to win this.”

A tougher test will surely follow in 2025, given the form of Red Bull’s rivals throughout this season. Verstappen said he was “very excited to see what we can do next year” as he bids for a fifth consecutive crown, something only Schumacher has achieved. “But for now, I just want to enjoy the moment.”

And with that, Verstappen got one last congratulations from the MC news conference, before he fished behind the sofa for his empty can and went in search of a replacement. His thirst still demanded to be quenched.

In Las Vegas, of all places on a Saturday night, there will be no shortage of opportunities to do just that.

Top photo: Mark Thompson / Getty Images, ANP via Getty Images, Clive Mason/ Formula 1 via Getty Images, Rudy Carezzevoli / Stringer, via Getty Images; Design: Kelsea Petersen/Athletics