“A Schrodinger’s season for Max Verstappen. Concurrently his best and not his best.” That’s how we’ve described the world champion’s campaign in our Formula 1 driver rankings. And that’s because there are two ways of looking at Verstappen’s performance over the past months.
One is that his success in winning the title again with immense performance peaks against the background of a squad seemingly imploding around him combined into Verstappen’s greatest ever season. The other pairs the moments in this campaign that were of a lower ebb than in his other championship wins with more cynical (some would say disappointing) tactics in battle, to dip it below his other highs overall.
Well, now it’s time to open the box.
Starting with ‘the best’ argument, two things cannot be denied. The first is how crushingly good and dominant Verstappen was in winning four of the opening five races this term. This might have been a straight run were it not for his brake fire in Melbourne.
The second is how, in 2024, Verstappen produced higher performance peaks than ever. His Brazilian Grand Prix wet-weather masterclass will live longest in the memory, but his beatings of Lando Norris at Imola, Barcelona and in Qatar were arguably even better given they didn’t involve assistance from red flags in gaining places.
That’s not to denigrate Verstappen’s Interlagos triumph – he was exceptional there. Pass after pass at Turn 1, building on his excellent 2016 race in similar conditions at the same track. And there he finally snapped Norris’s faint title hopes. Truly, it was a champion’s drive and Verstappen is a worthy title winner once again.
Verstappen delivered several crunch wins on days when McLaren arguably had a faster car package in 2024
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Those Imola, Spain and Qatar triumphs are so noteworthy because in each Verstappen triumphed against the odds, with Norris blowing the best car potential overall in the latter two and unable to find a way past in the first when the McLaren came alive in the final stint.
That Verstappen fended him off at Imola having completely lost his tyre temperature operating window was, on reflection, something surely no one else could have done in the RB20. But it wasn’t just the wins that were impressive.
“He just adapts incredibly well to what he’s got,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner marvels of Verstappen’s efforts to bank…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Autosport.com – Formula 1 – Stories…