Max Verstappen has offered a candid assessment of his near-miss in the 2024 Formula 1 drivers’ championship, insisting that falling two points short of Lando Norris doesn’t constitute a genuine defeat. The four-time world champion’s perspective stems from Red Bull Racing’s difficult mid-season form, which left him trailing by over 100 points before a remarkable late-season surge brought him within touching distance of an unprecedented fifth consecutive title.
The mathematical reality of an unlikely comeback
Verstappen’s charge through the second half of the campaign represented one of the season’s most compelling narratives. After the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, the Red Bull driver found himself 104 points adrift of Oscar Piastri, who occupied third position in the standings at that stage. The deficit appeared insurmountable given McLaren’s dominant form through the summer months.
The turnaround emerged from a combination of technical improvements at Red Bull and a series of costly errors from McLaren. Set-up breakthroughs transformed the RB20’s handling characteristics, while the Woking-based squad haemorrhaged points through driver mistakes, questionable strategy calls, and technical infringements. Norris suffered a reliability failure at Zandvoort, and both McLaren cars were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix due to excessive floor plank wear.
Why the championship was never truly within reach
Speaking to Dutch broadcaster Viaplay following his victory at the Yas Marina Circuit, Verstappen articulated a philosophical view of the title battle. “We didn’t really lose it, because we were never really in it,” the Dutchman explained. “I think if you look at the whole season, we never really had a chance to compete.”
The presence of two competitive McLaren drivers proved crucial to Verstappen’s analysis. Norris and Piastri routinely took points from each other in wheel-to-wheel combat, preventing either from building an unassailable advantage. As the sole Red Bull driver consistently fighting at the front following Liam Lawson’s mid-season promotion, Verstappen capitalised on every McLaren mishap to close what should have been an unbridgeable gap.
The Barcelona penalty in context
Verstappen’s collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix cost him valuable points through a time penalty. Yet the four-time champion refuses to view that incident as the decisive moment. “The championship was certainly not lost in Barcelona,” he stated. “I think you have to look more at where we had opportunities to compete.”
The Red Bull driver pointed to numerous other incidents throughout the season that shaped the final outcome. He cited his own retirement in Austria, persistent mechanical issues, botched pit stops, and entire race weekends where the team simply lacked competitive pace. The chaotic nature of the season meant attributing the final result to any single moment misses the broader picture.
McLaren’s Las Vegas disqualification changed everything
Perhaps the most significant swing in Verstappen’s favour came at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where both McLaren cars were excluded from the results after post-race scrutineering revealed illegal floor wear. Without that disqualification, Verstappen’s mathematical challenge would have ended several races earlier.
“Ultimately, McLaren was disqualified in Las Vegas,” Verstappen noted. “If that doesn’t happen, then you’re not even in the race.” This acknowledgment underscores his belief that fortune played as significant a role as performance in determining how close the championship became.
The Dutchman employed a characteristically blunt metaphor to summarise his feelings on the final margin. “In the end it doesn’t matter if it’s one point, half a point, 20 points. Not winning is not winning. You’re either pregnant or you’re not. You’re not half pregnant, right?”
Red Bull’s mid-season crisis prompted leadership change
The backdrop to Verstappen’s philosophical acceptance was Red Bull’s organisational upheaval during the campaign. The team’s performance crisis reached such severity that Christian Horner was replaced as team principal by Laurent Mekies mid-season. This dramatic change in leadership reflected the depth of Red Bull’s competitive struggles and the urgency required to arrest their decline.
From Verstappen’s perspective, reaching the final round with any mathematical chance of the title represented an achievement rather than a failure. “I think we can be happy that we were able to compete in the championship,” he reflected. “First of all, we were never in the lead in the championship. We also received a lot of gifts ourselves.”
What this means going forward
Verstappen’s measured response to his championship defeat reveals a driver who understands the broader context of a season-long campaign. Rather than fixating on individual moments or narrow margins, he recognises that Red Bull’s competitive position made even challenging for the title an unexpected outcome. This perspective may prove valuable as the team regroups for the next campaign, where recapturing their early-season dominance will be essential. With Liam Lawson now partnering Verstappen and significant technical developments planned for the new season, Red Bull will aim to ensure their championship challenge doesn’t require late-season heroics to remain viable. The lessons from 2024’s near-miss could define how they approach future campaigns.
