Formula 1 world champion
Max Verstappen – only the unscrupulous child prodigy could break Hamilton’s dominance
Max Verstappen
© Kamran Jebreili / AFP
Max Verstappen has won his first world title after a memorable season finale and broken the seven-year dominance of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Only an exceptional driver like the Dutchman could do it.
The beaten Lewis Hamilton remained a fair loser in the end: “First of all, congratulations to Max and his team. You have done a great job,” he said on the night of Abu Dhabi, calmly into the microphone. After all, the Briton had just missed the historic triumph in an insane race as the first driver to win eight titles in Formula 1.
That Max Verstappen wrested the crown from rival Hamilton on that memorable night was owed to one of the most miraculous twists and turns the sport has likely ever seen. At first everything went well for the Mercedes driver. Hamilton had won the start against Verstappen while standing in second position because his wheels were spinning.
Max Verstappen already seemed defeated
In other words: Verstappen had simply screwed up the start and drove 57 laps behind Hamilton, who looked like the sure winner. It was only the safety car and the missed tire change from Mercedes that brought Verstappen back to the lead. With fresh tires and slipstream, Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the penultimate lap (!) – and won.
When all the fresh impressions and the fluttering nerves have calmed down and you look back on the season finale, you will see: Only a driver of the extraordinary class of Verstappens was able to break through the seven-year dominance of Mercedes and Hamilton. Formula 1 owes one of the most exciting title fights in its history to Verstappen and his team. With a worthy finale that the 24-year-old Red Bull driver won with luck and skill.
The race showed once again like a decal the entire season. It was a duel that was extremely heated and brutal. With rams on the track, poisonous verbal attacks and mutual accusations of the teams at the world motor sport federation Fia. Even after the finals in Abu Dhabi, Mercedes protested the race management’s decision to reopen the race two laps before the end.
Fast, aggressive and with nerves of steel
Verstappen crowned his career with the world title, and one can assume that the 24-year-old will win one or the other title. When he made his Formula 1 debut at Toro Rosso (Red Bull’s junior team) at the age of 17, there was criticism from the paddock. It was said that calling such a young driver was a safety risk. But the voices quickly fell silent. the stern spoke of a big bang in the Formula 1 universe in 2016 after Verstappen’s first Grand Prix victory in Barcelona.
Fast, aggressive and with nerves of steel – that’s how you could describe the Dutchman’s most outstanding talents. Verstappen is probably one of the most talented drivers Formula 1 has ever seen. The fact that he often overshoots the mark with his toughness has earned him a lot of criticism.
In this season, in which Red Bull finally put a competitive car on the track again after many years, Verstappen took advantage of this toughness. He survived the collision with Hamilton at Silverstone, after which he raced into the gang. While Hamilton was celebrating the win on his home track, Verstappen was examined in the hospital.
Monza was a low point in the duel
The second serious incident occurred in Monza. In the chicane, Verstappen performed one of his favorite maneuvers. He sat behind Hamilton in the first chicane next to the British and did not give in. He took advantage of a loophole that basically didn’t exist. The result: Verstappen’s car slipped over the Hamilton Silver Arrow – had it not been for the halo bracket over the cockpit, Hamilton could have been seriously injured. Or worse. Verstappen received a fine. In the Saudi Arabian Jeddah, Verstappen had Hamilton drive up, but this had no consequences.
It is maneuvers like in Monza that sometimes make him look like a piste extremist who ruthlessly pursues his goals. Some find that Verstappen overshoots the mark too often. He can be seen in a scene from 2018 in the Netflix documentary “Drive to survive”. In it, after the race in Sao Paulo, he threatened the also very young Esteban Ocon with a beating because the Verstappen had allegedly shot down. In any case, that’s how the Dutchman saw it himself. These are scenes in which the new title holder comes across with the charm of a pub bully.
For Verstappen supporters, however, this is exactly the level of competition that it takes to stand up to an over-team and its over-driver, Hamilton. But even more than the rough charm, it is Verstappen’s incredible talent. With the world title, he confirms that he was once rightly traded as a child prodigy. The child prodigy is now an adult. In the next season he will again deliver a courageous duel with Hamilton.
