Max Verstappen talked about the low points of his championship run, and reflected on everything he had been through.
Verstappen clinched his maiden world championship in dramatic circumstances on the last lap of the last race of the season. He fended off persistent rival Lewis Hamilton and took victory in the greatest season of recent times.
The Dutchman has received a ton of criticism this season on various things, ranging from aggressive driving style to attitude issues. However, it was all worth it for Super Max as he crossed the line in Abu Dhabi and basked in the glory of what he had achieved.
After the celebrations, Verstappen talked about the low points of his championship run, and spoke about how they only egged him on.
“That (his crash at Silverstone) was definitely the lowest point,” he said, as quoted by the Race. “But those are the moments that make you a better driver.
“There was also criticism and whatever. But I think what, again, these moments teach you is that you have to keep believing in yourself and in your own beliefs and be a strong person about it. That always works very well for me.”
Fuel
“Of course sometimes it hurts. It needs to sometimes, that’s what my dad always said,” he continued.
“Especially when I was still racing go-karts in the national championship, I had a lot of wins and I didn’t know what losing was like. My dad said one day you will learn and it will hurt. Of course that day came that I didn’t win and I was crying.
“I hate losing. That’s a good mentality, but you should always analyse and understand why that is and also be grateful, be respectful to the guy who beat you.
“Over the years you learn how to do that better, especially in F1 because you normally have one dominant team. It’s been incredible with two teams fighting for the title.
“It’s the same story as in 2018. You have to believe in yourself, learn from moments – it doesn’t have to be particularly good things – and try to become a better driver. That’s what I tried to do this year,” he concluded.
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