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An exhilarating finale to one of the most intense seasons in F1 history saw Max Verstappen of Red Bull fly to the finish line, taking the championship win on the very last lap, a win that the Dutch described as a "miracle".
Because Lewis Hamilton simply dominated the majority of the race, a win seemed like a rather distant possibility and it was truly only a miracle that could have produced the result. Here, without a doubt, it was Latifi's crash on lap 54 and the virtual safety car deployed because of it that largely contributed to Verstappen's win.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believed that with 10 laps to go, it was only a miracle that could bring home a win for the team, and a miracle is indeed what they got. Here is Max Verstappen's response to this:
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"Yes, finally a bit of luck for me"
He added:
"Throughout the whole race, you know I tried to keep on pushing, tried to keep on believing in it even though it didn't look like it and sometimes miracles happen."
Today Max Verstappen became the first Dutch champion in F1 history and is now the second driver to win the championship for the Austrian team, after Sebastian Vettel who dominated the sport with the team for four consecutive years up to 2013.
"It’s incredible to see all this orange here" - Max Verstappen on all the support he received
In his five years with Red Bull in F1, Max Verstappen has received growing support from fans all over the world, and this year, given that he was the only one to put up a real fight with seven-time WDC winner Lewis Hamilton, has resulted in increased respect for the Dutchman.
Here is Verstappen's message to all his fans and his expression of appreciation for their support:
"It’s incredible to see all this orange here and all over the world where they've supported me. Throughout my whole career and especially here in Formula 1, the support is just incredible and I hope I can do this for a very long time with all the support of my great fans.
Voted the most popular F1 driver on the grid, the never-ending support of the "orange army" for the Dutchman reflects in every race.
