"Something that I never thought was possible": 4x F1 champion Max Verstappen reacts to sealing the title at the Las Vegas GP

Max Verstappen has admitted that he never thought he would become a four-time world champion in F1 after clinching the title in the Las Vegas GP. The Red Bull driver came into the race with the permutation that he had to finish ahead of his title rival Lando Norris in the race to clinch the title.

As the race weekend began, it did appear that Red Bull would be on the back foot. The rear wing that the team was using was costing the drivers more than half a second on the straights. On Saturday (November 23), the team brought what was a modification to that wing, with parts of it cut off. As it turns out, that change helped Max Verstappen immensely, as the car was far more balanced.

The driver ran in podium-contending positions for most of the race while Lando Norris in his McLaren struggled with excessive tire wear.

By the end of the race, Max Verstappen could not hold off the two Ferraris but still finished in P5 ahead of his title rival to secure the championship. Talking to Jenson Button in the post-race scrum, the driver was quite candid in admitting that he did not expect to be a four-time world champion in the sport. He said:

"It’s been a long season. Of course, we started off amazing, it was almost like cruising but then we had a tough run. But as a team we kept it together, we kept working on improvement and we pulled over the line. I’m incredibly proud of everyone, what they have done for me."

He added:

"And to stand here as a four-time world champion is of course something that I never thought was possible. So, at the moment just feeling relieved, in a way, but also very proud."

"I'm really proud of him": Max Verstappen's race engineer

Max Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase was also interviewed after the race as the driver sealed his fourth title and he saw quite a few similarities with what happened in 2021. 'GP', as he's often referred to, said that he was very proud of how Verstappen had conducted himself throughout the season, making sure he extracted the best possible result in every race.

Claiming that he was proud of him, Lambiase said:

"This year has shared many similarities to 2021. It was getting pretty intense at times. The buffer we had cemented it. He's taken another step, which is probably hard to believe. The effort he puts in with us, the respect he gives all his fellow drivers, OK we have seen it a bit, but he doesn't have to be there and win it every single weekend. He's come on a lot and I'm really proud of him."

Verstappen is now the fifth driver in F1 history to win four consecutive titles, with Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, and Juan Manuel Fangio being the others.