Max Verstappen wins fourth consecutive title – DW – 24/11/2024

Max Verstappen could only manage a fifth place in the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday. But with his only remaining rival, Lando Norris, finishing behind him in sixth and George Russell first, it was enough for Verstappen to win a fourth consecutive title.

The 27-year-old therefore follows Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost as the only men to claim four championships.

“Standing here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought possible,” Verstappen said after the race. “At the moment I feel relieved, but also very proud. If you look to next year right now I think it will be a good fight between a lot of cars, but I’m hungry.”

Harder ride this season

While his last two titles have been relatively straightforward, the 2024 season has been more mixed for Verstappen. While he opened with seven wins from 10, a mid-season slump saw him go 10 Grand Prix races without a win.

“It was a very challenging season and I had to be calm. I think this season taught me a lot of lessons and we handled it well as a team, so of course that makes it a very special and beautiful seasonhe said.

In addition to the struggles with his Red Bull car and the challenge from Norris, Verstappen had to contend with a scandal within his team. Red Bull CEO Christian Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior by a female employee. He was cleared after an external investigation, but the allegations overshadowed Red Bull’s preparations.

The furor also exposed a power struggle between Horner and team advisor Helmut Marko. Verstappen often seemed caught in the middle. But such problems were forgotten when the Dutchman crossed the line on Sunday.

“He just gets in the car and he delivers, he’s a great person. That puts him among the greats, statistics now put him there as well,” Horner said. “He’s only just turned 27 and he’s in the form of his life, so as long as we can keep giving him a decent car, he’ll keep delivering.”

The 2025 season offers chances and challenges

Norris, his British rival who drives for McLaren, also paid tribute to Verstappen.

“Congratulations to Max, as much as it hurts a bit, saying congratulations doesn’t hurt. He had an incredible season and when you have the fastest car he dominated and when he didn’t he was still there and always on my heels. He made my life tough, we made his tough at times, I’m sure, but he had a better season.”

The 2025 season will give Verstappen a chance to equal Schumacher’s record of five consecutive titles.

“Obviously, if you look at next year right now, it will be a proper battle between lots of cars,” Verstappen said. “But I’ve got to enjoy this, there’s still two races to go and then we’ll have a bit of a break before we get back to it next year.”

The final two races of the 2024 season are in Qatar on 1 December and Abu Dhabi on 8 December.

Edited by: Alex Berry