"Everyone was tense" - Max Verstappen describes mood in his camp before F1 2021 season finale

Max Verstappen described how his family and team were going through a tense mood during the final race. The first-time world champion, accompanied by his father Jos Verstappen, was speaking in an interview with former F1 driver David Coulthard for carnext.com.

The 24-year-old talked about the nervous emotions running through his family and loved ones before that last lap. Describing the mood in his camp, Verstappen said:

“I know my mum's always nervous. It doesn’t matter if I'm doing the qualifying or race, she wants to go to the toilet many times in the race. Everyone was tense and everyone was just looking forward to the race. The race itself wasn’t looking very great, we didn’t really have the pace. But then everything just went upside down in the last lap.”

The 2021 F1 world champion had the race slipping away from him when his rival Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes took control of the race right from the start with their better package. It wasn’t until the last lap when the Safety Car came in that the tables turned in favor of Verstappen, where he had to overtake the seven-time world champion, in the final corners of the race, and hold the position until the checkered flag.

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Max Verstappen reveals he was nervous before the season finale

Throughout the season, Max Verstappen has been known to come refreshed to every race of the season. The Dutchman always shrugged off the pressure of an intense title battle and headed into every race weekend with a calm and composed mindset.

Saudi Arabia was the only race venue where he seemed to be buckling under pressure after losing pole position. The driver, however, revealed to David Coulthard saying he was as tense as everyone else in his camp before the final race in Abu Dhabi.

Describing his mood before the race, Max Verstappen said:

“Normally I'm not nervous at all for every race, but yesterday I was.”

Moments of nervousness and tension before the race eventually turned into joy and celebration when Max Verstappen became the new world champion, and in the process, achieved an envious distinction as the only non-Mercedes driver to do so in the V6 era of the sport. He will return in 2022 aiming to defend the title with his teammate Sergio 'Checo' Perez.