"Probably a swear word" - Max Verstappen reveals first thing he did after waking up as F1 champion

Max Verstappen joked that he had a massive hangover on Monday morning following his epic win against Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 drivers' title. The maiden title winner said the first word on his mind as he woke up was probably a swear word.

Verstappen had "one too many" drinks on Sunday night after beating rival Hamilton and clinching the 2021 F1 drivers' world championship on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He spoke about his celebrations post the race win in an interview at the FIA champions' press conference on Thursday. When asked if the first words that came to his mind were "I am world champion" the Dutchman said:

"No, it was probably a swear word when I woke up. Yeah. Just because of the headache. But yeah I mean it's been good of course, I've been really enjoying it so far."

He was referring to the massive hangover he had on Monday morning, after celebrating his first-ever title victory in the sport with his team, family, and friends. The 24-year-old then went on to talk about the effects the last few weeks have had on his body, saying he needs a break to recharge for the 2022 season. He said:

"But I also really need a break because it wasn’t easy I also needed to always try to be perfect the whole year. I think once you then finish the last race it all came out, also my body when I was driving on Tuesday, wasn't particularly great, it was hurting."

Max Verstappen is the first driver from the Netherlands to win an F1 world championship, which also makes him the most successful Dutchman in the sport.

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Max Verstappen celebrated title win at Red Bull factory in the UK

Max Verstappen celebrated his historic world championship win by visiting the Red Bull factory in Milton-Keynes. The Dutchman received a hero's welcome at the venue as each member of the team was present, opening orange flares upon his arrival. Joined by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, he gave a speech thanking the entire factory for their hard work over the years.

At the FIA champions' press conference, Verstappen reflected on his visit to the team's factory, saying:

"It's been our goal since I joined the team, and once you finally pull it off, it was really nice seeing all the happy faces in the whole factory basically, and also the speech. The little clip of the season, it's just amazing. I really tried to enjoy the moment because how many times will you have that moment I don’t know. Of course many times, but for now it's been great."

Max Verstappen will return for Red Bull in 2022 and will compete for the drivers' title once again.