F1 News: Max Verstappen Branded 'Superhuman' Despite Turbulent Year For Red Bull

Saajan Jogia | 2 Hours Ago

Nov 23, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) celebrates his championship victory following the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports F1 reporter Martin Brundle has delivered his verdict on Max Verstappen's turbulent 2024 season with Red Bull. Brundle described Verstappen as "superhuman" for overcoming numerous challenges alongside his team, ultimately securing his fourth Formula 1 championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The Milton Keynes outfit navigated a challenging year marked by an investigation into team principal Christian Horner over allegations of misconduct, the high-profile exits of key figures such as Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, reports about internal power struggles, and ongoing balance challenges with the RB20.

Verstappen dominated the early stages of the 2024 season, clinching victory in seven of the first ten races. However, the dynamics shifted dramatically after the Spanish Grand Prix, with McLaren rising as a formidable contender in the ground-effect era. Lando Norris, leading the charge for the Papaya team, emerged as a potent rival, challenging Verstappen relentlessly and keeping his championship ambitions uncertain until the pivotal Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

In the race at Interlagos, the four-time world champion started 17th and went on to win the Grand Prix by a margin of nearly 20 seconds over runner-up driver Esteban Ocon. While Verstappen is now counted among the six great drivers who have won four titles in their premier class careers, Brundle pointed at the challenges that the Dutchman overcame, fully determined to win the championship. Writing on Sky Sports F1, he explained:

"The mental and physical commitment for that consistent level of performance and achievement, through good times and bad, while risking your life for a prolonged time, is superhuman.

"A few racing drivers achieve F1 status, some of us scored points, others stood on the podium, some won races, and a few won championships. Only six have won four or more titles and the list of Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen is quite something.

"Other greats like Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna could well have joined them if they'd survived longer."

Brundle continued:

"The Red Bull was the car to beat early in the season and by winning seven of the first 10 races Max created a great springboard for this title.

"During that phase he also somehow mind-managed the very public potential crisis which hit team boss Christian Horner, the spat between his dad Jos and Christian, endless rumours of who might be leaving the team, and then Adrian Newey actually leaving. That took some navigating while still delivering on track.

"In the second half of the season, he had the third-best car but outperformed that with important damage limitation, racking up eight race victories but crucially 13 podiums so far this season. He has been extremely strong in the point-scoring Sprints too.

"The killer blow for Lando Norris' hopes was in Brazil when Verstappen delivered his masterclass from 17th to first. And Max has outscored team-mate Sergio Perez 403 to 152 points which sums up several things."