"Never felt comfortable in the lead": Max Verstappen describes championship-winning F1 2021 season

Max Verstappen says he knew 2021 was the year he could win the F1 World Drivers' Championship. However, he was never comfortable despite leading the standings at one point. Speaking to Will Buxton on F1’s official channel, the Dutchman reflected on his season.

Describing the constant shift in momentum during the season, the 2021 World Champion said:

“Well, of course, naturally, when I was in the lead of the championship at one point and the gap was increasing, it looked good. Still, every race was a battle. I won, [and] maybe in one or two races, it looked dominant, but the other ones were always so tight. So I never felt comfortable in the lead.”

According to the newly crowned Red Bull Racing champion, there were moments during the season when, although he was winning, he felt uncertain about being able to maintain the lead.

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Max Verstappen could have sealed 2021 title before Abu Dhabi GP

Max Verstappen lost more than 50 points during the 2021 season due to factors that were out of his control. Eventually, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton draw even on points with the Red Bull driver. Any cushion that he had was gone by the time the season finale rolled around.

Describing the momentum shift until the last race, Verstappen said:

“We had some unlucky moments and my tyre blowout in Baku, Silverstone, Hungary lap one, and then immediately, I lost a lot of points. But as a team, we really worked well together to optimize the car, and the engine as well with Honda, to get some really important results. At the end of the day, it gave us the opportunity, really, to fight in the last race.”

Claiming victory in the season finale, Max Verstappen became the first Dutch F1 champion. Despite the controversy surrounding the final lap of the race, the Dutchman has been widely hailed a deserving champion by most in the sport, including his rivals.