Max Verstappen stated he had never driven better than this season after yielding the Formula One title to McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris at Sunday\u2019s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Red Bull’s four-times world champion gained under the Yas Marina floodlights as he tried to cap a comeback for the ages with a remarkable title triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite rounding out the season with more wins (eight) than any other driver, Verstappen ultimately fell two points short, with Norris\u2019 third-place finish enough to secure the Briton the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked if this year had been the best he had driven, Verstappen said: \u201cYeah, I think so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI mean, I have no regrets about my season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course, shame to miss out on the title but at the same time, for a long period of time I was not even thinking about the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI never felt like I was in it until a few rounds ago. That\u2019s pretty crazy. But, yeah, you take your pride in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TOUGH FIGHT AND AMAZING COMEBACK<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Verstappen put up a tough fight this season. The 28-year-old was 104 points adrift of the championship lead following his home Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He then bounced back in style, overcoming an initially uncompetitive car and a Red Bull leadership reshuffle that ousted Christian Horner, to take six wins from the final nine races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday was his 10th consecutive top-three finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHonestly, I\u2019m sitting here now with probably a better feeling than what I had last year at this time because the second half of last year was pretty tricky at times as well,\u201d he said referring to Red Bull\u2019s drop in form in 2024, when he took just two wins from the final 14 races having won seven of the first 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Denied a record-equalling fifth consecutive title on Sunday, Verstappen was gracious in defeat and among the first to congratulate the new champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He greeted Norris, a rival but also a friend, with a hug and a smile shortly after the Briton had stepped out of his McLaren after performing celebratory, tyre-smoking doughnuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWinning your first title is something that I think we all dreamt of when you get into the sport,\u201d said Verstappen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou work for that since you’re a little kid, it\u2019s what you dream of. So, when you win your first title, this is very emotional,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: Reuters<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Max Verstappen stated he had never driven better than this season after yielding the Formula One title to McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris at Sunday\u2019s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Red Bull’s four-times world champion gained under the Yas Marina floodlights as he tried to cap a comeback for the ages with a remarkable title triumph. Despite…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[2248,2200,2197,2199,73,134],"class_list":["post-10314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-abu-dhabi-grand-prix","tag-formula-one","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mclarens-lando-norris","tag-slsports","tag-sports-news"],"yoast_head":"\n