Max Verstappen says his first emotion was relief when he crossed the line to secure the Drivers’ Championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Fifth place was enough for Verstappen in Las Vegas, where he finished ahead of Lando Norris, confirming a fourth consecutive title with two rounds to go. His first championship was won at the final round in Abu Dhabi in 2021, ahead of two that were assured much earlier in the season, but the different character of 2024 – when he took a comfortable lead early but then had to defend it – called out a different answer for the Dutchman.

“Each championship has actually been very different in terms of emotions,” said Verstappen. “It will never surpass the emotions of the first one because that’s what you wanted to do, and that’s your ultimate dream and goal to win one. So that was a huge elation.

“But this season was very different from the second and last year. And I think that’s great, because if they all look fairly similar, it’s not that exciting. To be honest, I was very relieved when I crossed the line. I thought, ‘It’s over.’ It was a tough series of races and I am very happy that it rained in Brazil!”

Verstappen knows he is likely to face an even tougher challenge in 2025 given the form in the second half of this year, but he says Red Bull’s response to setbacks convinces him his success can continue.

“What I know is that the team is not giving up,” he said. “There are a lot of very competent people and I really enjoy working with them. I know it’s been hard for them too, there’s been a lot of pressure on them this year. And when you come out of a season like last year, where we basically broke every record, and then at a certain point you start to struggle with the car and you don’t really seem to understand what’s going on or what’s going wrong. It is important to stay calm and solve the problem.

“Everyone in the team has their own emotions that you have to deal with. In a sense it is also people management, because everyone reacts a little differently to good or bad results. But I also like that, because everyone has their own character, but we all have to work together towards the same end goal.

“I’m very proud of how everyone stayed together in those very tough races where we came out a bit lost. We came back to the factory, there were a lot of analyzes going on, and just the response to that… I think when we went to Austin, after we really understood our problems from Monza, we already saw an improvement in performance and lots of ideas for next year.

“We couldn’t change a few things this year, so that’s something for next year. I just hope this makes the car better to drive, and generally more competitive. But of course I also know that the others are not sitting still. So next year will be a big battle, but even if you are not the fastest, a lot is possible if you continue to maximize results.”