"Thankfully for us he didn’t" - Jolyon Palmer claims Max Verstappen's "bad luck" kept F1 championship interesting

Max Verstappen’s tough moments kept the season interesting, according to F1 analyst and former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer. The Briton believes had it not been for the Dutchman’s bad luck at some races this season, the Red Bull F1 champion could have wrapped up the title earlier than Abu Dhabi.

Writing in his column on F1’s official site, Palmer explained how Verstappen’s bad races kept the season interesting. He wrote:

“Were it not for bad luck in Baku and Budapest, and a collision in Silverstone, then he would have had the championship sewn up before the last lap at Yas Marina. Thankfully for us, he didn’t, and the drama went down to the wire.”

Proving Palmer’s opinion, Max Verstappen did have it going for him throughout the majority of the season, where Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were unable to deliver great performances. The Dutchman’s rivals, however, had the momentum favoring them in the last four races until the last lap in Abu Dhabi.

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Jolyon Palmer believes Max Verstappen deserves to be world champion

According to Jolyon Palmer, Max Verstappen had made minimal errors throughout the season. The ex-F1 driver explained in his column on F1’s official website that the Dutchman’s consistency was key to claiming the title. Despite the controversial last lap in Abu Dhabi, Palmer believes the Red Bull F1 driver undeniably had the best performance through the entire season, making him emerge ahead of his British rival.

Explaining why Verstappen deserves to be champion, Palmer said:

“Whatever you make of the final lap drama in Abu Dhabi, it’s tough to argue that the Dutchman isn’t a deserving champion this year... I put Verstappen as top driver this year based on the fact he barely put a foot wrong.”

Palmer’s analysis of Max Verstappen is no different from the season's statistics, where the Dutchman claimed 10 wins, 10 pole positions, 18 podiums, and led 654 laps. Barring the Abu Dhabi race result and considering the performances until the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, the 2021 world champion had proved his title worth based on pure consistency.

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