"Couldn't have written it more crazy" - Max Verstappen reflects on F1 championship win over Lewis Hamilton
Max Verstappen is a one-month-old-F1 world champion now. The Dutchman stole the win from Lewis Hamilton's clutches on the final lap of the last race in 2021 to clinch the crown.
A month on from the memorable triumph in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen's team Red Bull shared a video on social media. In it, the Dutchman can be seen alongside Team principal Christian Horner reflecting on that moment.
Horner called crossing the line at Abu Dhabi "the big one, the final one", to which Verstappen responded:
"Yeah. the most important one. You couldn't have written it more crazy. I think if they would have told me it would go like this then I think I would have had a heart attack."
The title seemed to be slipping from the 24-year-old's grasp with 10 laps remaining in the ultimate race of the season. However, a crash on lap 54 by Nicholas Latifi turned out to be a godsend for Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman came in for fresh tires, while Lewis Hamilton was advised to stay out and hold onto track position. This became a massive advantage when Race Director Michael Masi chose to let cars between him and Hamilton unlap before abruptly calling the Safety Car in.
The 24-year-old also praised teammate Sergio Perez for holding Lewis Hamilton up, dubbing him the 'Mexican Minister of Defence'.
Headbutting the tire wall in Silverstone prevented Max Verstappen from winning 2021 title sooner
Max Verstappen was more than thrilled with his last-lap heroics to seal the 2021 drivers' world championship. But the Dutchman felt he could have clinched his maiden world title sooner had he not headbutted the tire wall at Silverstone.
#F1
Drama on the opening lap at Silverstone
Verstappen and Hamilton collide at Copse
Verstappen hits the barriers. He's out of the car and has walked away
#BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F1 https://t.co/mvZZyI2fkS
While discussing the 24-year-old's title-winning campaign, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner touched on key moments when they endured bad luck.
Verstappen suffered a tire failure in Baku whilst in P1 with a handful of laps to go. He was also caught up in a multi-car pile up on the opening lap at the Hungaroring. However, his 51g crash on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix during a wheel-to-wheel duel with Lewis Hamilton was the toughest blow. Horner said:
"There have been some big moments... It was important to come back strong, and Max (Verstappen) did that, and then Silverstone was a key moment, and again how he came back from that."
Verstappen added to it by saying:
"Same as Christian (Horner). Headbutting the tire wall in Silverstone wasn't that great."
In the end, it still wasn't a big enough dent in Verstappen's title challenge as he beat Lewis Hamilton by 12 points.