November 24th 2024.
Max Verstappen and Zak Brown, the boss of McLaren, shared a lighthearted moment after Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive F1 title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Despite George Russell's victory on Sunday, it was Verstappen who stole the show and cemented his status as an F1 legend by finishing ahead of Lando Norris and claiming the 2024 championship.
Verstappen had been dominating the first half of the season, but Norris and McLaren's improved performance made for an exciting title fight. Although Norris managed to pick up several wins, it wasn't enough to close the gap and Verstappen sealed the deal with two races still remaining.
The relationship between Verstappen's team, Red Bull, and Norris's team, McLaren, has been tense at times. McLaren CEO Zak Brown has not been afraid to criticize Red Bull and their team principal Christian Horner. In fact, in May, Brown even suggested that Verstappen's performances were not that special and that other drivers on the grid could win the championship if given the same car.
However, there was no animosity between Verstappen and Brown in Vegas as the American went to congratulate the Dutch driver during an interview with Sky Sports. But Verstappen couldn't resist making a playful jab at Brown's previous comments. "You pushed us all the way," Verstappen said with a grin, to which Brown replied, "You earned it. Four world championships. Beat my Senna guy," referring to McLaren legend Ayrton Senna.
Verstappen then joked, "Like you said before, I could only win it in the fastest car. This year's been a little different!" Brown laughed and replied, "Exactly."
Meanwhile, Norris, who finished one place behind Verstappen in sixth, offered his own congratulations. "Knowing the championship is 100 per cent over, we always had a little hope inside, but he drove an incredible season," Norris said. "When he had the quickest car, he dominated. When he didn't, he was still there and always in my heels. He made my life tough. We made his tough, I'm sure, at times. But he drove a better season and of course a big congrats to him. That's the main thing."
Despite Verstappen's individual success, McLaren still has a chance to come out on top in the constructors' championship. With just two races left in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, McLaren is currently leading Ferrari by 24 points, with Red Bull trailing behind by 53 points and looking unlikely to defend their title.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
