Max Verstappen snapped back at a reporter after he was asked about the consequences of his crash with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix in the context of his title fight. The Dutchman missed out on a fifth consecutive Drivers’ Championship title by a margin of just two points in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Verstappen ended the season with a memorable run of form, scoring 10 consecutive podiums and six Grand Prix victories to take the fight to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren. However, it was in the first half of the year that the title was lost.
For the most part, Verstappen maximised what was on offer, and he was also left to rue points lost in Austria after he was taken out of contention by Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap. However, his ‘red mist’ moment in Barcelona will stand as a flashpoint in his season.
The Dutchman was hit with a 10-second time penalty for contact with Mercedes driver Russell – an incident that he has since condemned and expressed regret over. However, when it was brought up in the aftermath of his season-ending win in Abu Dhabi, he did not take kindly to the line of questioning.
“You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season,” Verstappen snapped back. “The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come. Yep …You’re giving me a stupid grin now.
“It’s part of racing at the end. You live and learn. The championship is won over 24 rounds. I’ve also had a lot of early Christmas presents given to me (by McLaren) in the second half. So you can also question that.”
After the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Verstappen was over 100 points behind Piastri in the standings, but he ended the year ahead of him in the Drivers’ Championship. The 28-year-old looks back on his season with immense pride, as he explained to the media.
“We’ve had a rollercoaster of a year, especially in the beginning, but somehow we have turned it around and the results that we have achieved after, honestly, having tough times after a race where you just don’t know why it’s bad or inconsistent… it’s not easy.
“But I think the team has showed that they never give up. It’s easy to say, ‘This is it, 100 points plus, the season is done’. But we always kept trying to understand the issues and I think we really did. It’s been fun. Honestly, the fightback has been really fun. In the end, it doesn’t matter if you finish behind by one point, 10 points or 20 points – you are behind. It’s two points now, but it’s been cool. I really enjoyed it.”