{"id":819557,"date":"2025-01-13T10:12:43","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T16:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/13\/max-verstappen-red-bull-driver-claims-he-would-have-won-f1-title-much-earlier-in-a-mclaren-car\/"},"modified":"2025-01-13T10:12:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T16:12:43","slug":"max-verstappen-red-bull-driver-claims-he-would-have-won-f1-title-much-earlier-in-a-mclaren-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/13\/max-verstappen-red-bull-driver-claims-he-would-have-won-f1-title-much-earlier-in-a-mclaren-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen: Red Bull driver claims he would have won F1 title much earlier in a McLaren car"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-component-name=\"ui-article-body\" data-highlight-intro=\"true\">\n<p>Max Verstappen has claimed he would also have won this year&#8217;s Formula 1 title had he been driving for McLaren instead of Red Bull, and much earlier!<\/p>\n<p>Verstappen clinched his fourth successive world title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday, two races from the end of a season during which Red Bull &#8211; constructors&#8217; champions for the past two years &#8211; have been usurped as the grid&#8217;s fastest team, with McLaren and Ferrari moving ahead in the standings.<\/p>\n<p>Verstappen&#8217;s eight race wins this year are still five more than any other driver, although only one of those came in the last 12 races.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.skysports.com\/f1\/news\/12433\/13260572\/lando-norris-the-factors-that-undid-mclaren-drivers-f1-world-title-bid-against-max-verstappen-in-2024\">What went wrong for Lando Norris? The factors that undid his title bid<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/f1\/news\/12433\/13260423\/martin-brundle-on-las-vegas-gp-max-verstappens-fourth-world-f1-title-assessed-george-russells-statement-race-win\"><strong>Martin Brundle column: Verdict on Las Vegas GP and Max Verstappen&#8217;s title win<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/f1\/news\/12433\/13260504\/qatar-gp-schedule-uk-time-when-to-watch-f1-sprint-weekend-live-on-sky-sports-in-second-last-2024-event\"><strong>When to watch the Qatar Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/get-sky\">Get Sky Sports or stream F1 and more with NOW<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>He said after clinching the crown on Sunday that he was &#8220;very proud&#8221; of retaining the championship as &#8220;for 70 per cent of the season we didn&#8217;t have the fastest car, but actually we still extended our lead&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>That fact was seemingly on Verstappen&#8217;s mind when Zak Brown, McLaren&#8217;s chief executive, stopped to congratulate the Dutchman on his title win midway through an interview with <em>Sky Sports F1<\/em> after Sunday&#8217;s race.<\/p>\n<p>As they shared a warm exchange, Verstappen playfully said, &#8220;like you said, before I could only win it in the fastest car. This year has been a little bit different!&#8221;, in apparent reference to comments made by Brown in an interview earlier this year.<\/p>\n<div data-account-id=\"6057984924001\" data-amp-iframe-embed data-asset-id=\"9f923e33-7926-40de-a816-f037587cdda5\" data-asset-path data-asset-version data-autoplay=\"false\" data-auth-config=\"{\"url\":\"https:\/\/api.condatis.sky\/auth\/video\/token\",\"tokenRequired\":true,\"fetchMethod\":\"url\",\"fetchOptions\":{\"encoded\":true},\"headers\":{\"X-SkyGDP-Proposition\":\"sportweb\",\"X-SkyGDP-Territory\":\"GB\",\"Authorization\":\"OGY5ZDgxZjRhNzYwNGQ3MTljMjFhMDJlOGVmODRhYzA=\"}}\" data-caption=\"Verstappen reflected on his fourth consecutive Drivers' Championship win and revealed more on his future with Red Bull\" data-clip-type data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-competition data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_9f923e33-7926-40de-a816-f037587cdda5\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options data-originator-id=\"49\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-sport-gb\" data-package-name data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"DESF5xFjJ\" data-playsinline data-sensitive=\"false\" data-sdc-id=\"6756355\" data-sdc-video-id=\"9f923e33-7926-40de-a816-f037587cdda5\" data-sport-category data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"videoplayer\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids data-video-id=\"ref:9f923e33-7926-40de-a816-f037587cdda5\" data-video-type data-auto-pause-on-not-visible tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position data-show-closed-captions=\"true\" data-show-pip data-show-live-stream-scrubber>\n<div data-role=\"bridge-controller\">\n<p data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>              <video id=\"id_9f923e33-7926-40de-a816-f037587cdda5\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id controls playsinline><\/video>\n            <\/div><figcaption>\n<p>              <span data-role=\"caption-text\">Verstappen reflected on his fourth consecutive Drivers&#8217; Championship win and revealed more on his future with Red Bull<\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p>And speaking later on to Dutch media as his title celebrations continued, Verstappen was quoted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraaf.nl\/sport\/1136875860\/na-paar-biertjes-en-gin-tonics-is-max-verstappen-vooral-opgelucht-in-een-mc-laren-was-ik-nog-veel-eerder-kampioen-geweest\">De Telegraaf<\/a> as saying: &#8220;Things like that only motivate me. If people are critical and think that I can only win in the best car, then I prove the opposite.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If I don&#8217;t get credit for this now, then I don&#8217;t know what else I can do.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Would I have become champion in the McLaren? Yes! And much earlier too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-account-id=\"6057984924001\" data-amp-iframe-embed data-asset-id=\"6c6df64d-4cb6-4f50-867d-dbc4e5a9896f\" data-asset-path data-asset-version data-autoplay=\"false\" data-auth-config=\"{\"url\":\"https:\/\/api.condatis.sky\/auth\/video\/token\",\"tokenRequired\":true,\"fetchMethod\":\"url\",\"fetchOptions\":{\"encoded\":true},\"headers\":{\"X-SkyGDP-Proposition\":\"sportweb\",\"X-SkyGDP-Territory\":\"GB\",\"Authorization\":\"OGY5ZDgxZjRhNzYwNGQ3MTljMjFhMDJlOGVmODRhYzA=\"}}\" data-caption=\"Christian Horner praised Verstappen after the Red Bull driver was confirmed as F1 world champion for the fourth time, with the team principal saying he cannot give the Dutchman enough credit\" data-clip-type data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-competition data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_6c6df64d-4cb6-4f50-867d-dbc4e5a9896f\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options data-originator-id=\"49\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-sport-gb\" data-package-name data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"DESF5xFjJ\" data-playsinline data-sensitive=\"false\" data-sdc-id=\"6756326\" data-sdc-video-id=\"6c6df64d-4cb6-4f50-867d-dbc4e5a9896f\" data-sport-category data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"videoplayer\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids data-video-id=\"ref:6c6df64d-4cb6-4f50-867d-dbc4e5a9896f\" data-video-type data-auto-pause-on-not-visible tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position data-show-closed-captions=\"true\" data-show-pip data-show-live-stream-scrubber>\n<div data-role=\"bridge-controller\">\n<p data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>              <video id=\"id_6c6df64d-4cb6-4f50-867d-dbc4e5a9896f\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id controls playsinline><\/video>\n            <\/div><figcaption>\n<p>              <span data-role=\"caption-text\">Christian Horner praised Verstappen after the Red Bull driver was confirmed as F1 world champion for the fourth time, with the team principal saying he cannot give the Dutchman enough credit<\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p>In his cheeky exchange with Brown, Verstappen appeared to be reminding the McLaren chief of remarks the American made in an interview on F1&#8217;s Beyond the Grid podcast back in May when the Dutchman was still dominating the early phase of the season.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he would rather have a star car designer or a star driver, Brown said: &#8220;Well, ultimately you need both. I don&#8217;t think without a star driver you&#8217;re going to win, so you need both.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;First it does start with the car. People ask me all the time &#8216;is it car or driver?&#8217; and it&#8217;s like &#8216;well, it&#8217;s both&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But the way I characterise it is I think there are six, seven drivers on the grid that would be world champions in the Red Bull.<\/p>\n<div data-account-id=\"6057984924001\" data-amp-iframe-embed data-asset-id=\"c662fa03-71f6-45f2-a79d-b43a4c9b3b02\" data-asset-path data-asset-version data-autoplay=\"false\" data-auth-config=\"{\"url\":\"https:\/\/api.condatis.sky\/auth\/video\/token\",\"tokenRequired\":true,\"fetchMethod\":\"url\",\"fetchOptions\":{\"encoded\":true},\"headers\":{\"X-SkyGDP-Proposition\":\"sportweb\",\"X-SkyGDP-Territory\":\"GB\",\"Authorization\":\"OGY5ZDgxZjRhNzYwNGQ3MTljMjFhMDJlOGVmODRhYzA=\"}}\" data-caption=\"McLaren driver Lando Norris congratulates Verstappen for winning his fourth world title, and reflects on their battles throughout the year\" data-clip-type data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-competition data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_c662fa03-71f6-45f2-a79d-b43a4c9b3b02\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options data-originator-id=\"49\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-sport-gb\" data-package-name data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"DESF5xFjJ\" data-playsinline data-sensitive=\"false\" data-sdc-id=\"6756328\" data-sdc-video-id=\"c662fa03-71f6-45f2-a79d-b43a4c9b3b02\" data-sport-category data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"videoplayer\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids data-video-id=\"ref:c662fa03-71f6-45f2-a79d-b43a4c9b3b02\" data-video-type data-auto-pause-on-not-visible tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position data-show-closed-captions=\"true\" data-show-pip data-show-live-stream-scrubber>\n<div data-role=\"bridge-controller\">\n<p data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>              <video id=\"id_c662fa03-71f6-45f2-a79d-b43a4c9b3b02\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id controls playsinline><\/video>\n            <\/div><figcaption>\n<p>              <span data-role=\"caption-text\">McLaren driver Lando Norris congratulates Verstappen for winning his fourth world title, and reflects on their battles throughout the year<\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;As great as Max is, and he&#8217;s one of the best ever, I don&#8217;t think Max wins the world championship today in any other car other than the Red Bull.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But then when you look at Sergio Perez, who is an excellent racing driver who has shown on his day he can run with Max, look at the difference there.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So I think you need both because as Formula 1 gets closer, and Max is doing such a special job, but look at what&#8217;s going on from P2, P3, P4, P5, one day we&#8217;re P2, next day we&#8217;re P5, and it&#8217;s all moving around. So the cars are so close that that&#8217;s when the driver&#8217;s going to make the difference, so you need both at the end of the day.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-account-id=\"6057984924001\" data-amp-iframe-embed data-asset-id=\"d9003768-39e7-49ba-801c-6d8abccc27a7\" data-asset-path data-asset-version data-autoplay=\"false\" data-auth-config=\"{\"url\":\"https:\/\/api.condatis.sky\/auth\/video\/token\",\"tokenRequired\":true,\"fetchMethod\":\"url\",\"fetchOptions\":{\"encoded\":true},\"headers\":{\"X-SkyGDP-Proposition\":\"sportweb\",\"X-SkyGDP-Territory\":\"GB\",\"Authorization\":\"OGY5ZDgxZjRhNzYwNGQ3MTljMjFhMDJlOGVmODRhYzA=\"}}\" data-caption=\"Martin Brundle takes a closer look at Verstappen's brilliance \" data-clip-type data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-competition data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_d9003768-39e7-49ba-801c-6d8abccc27a7\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options data-originator-id=\"49\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-sport-gb\" data-package-name data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"DESF5xFjJ\" data-playsinline data-sensitive=\"false\" data-sdc-id=\"6756237\" data-sdc-video-id=\"d9003768-39e7-49ba-801c-6d8abccc27a7\" data-sport-category data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"videoplayer\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids data-video-id=\"ref:d9003768-39e7-49ba-801c-6d8abccc27a7\" data-video-type data-auto-pause-on-not-visible tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position data-show-closed-captions=\"true\" data-show-pip data-show-live-stream-scrubber>\n<div data-role=\"bridge-controller\">\n<p data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>              <video id=\"id_d9003768-39e7-49ba-801c-6d8abccc27a7\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id controls playsinline><\/video>\n            <\/div><figcaption>\n<p>              <span data-role=\"caption-text\">Martin Brundle takes a closer look at Verstappen&#8217;s brilliance <\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p>Verstappen, meanwhile, was also asked on Sunday whether anyone else could have triumphed in this year&#8217;s Red Bull amid difficulties with the RB20 from mid-season.<\/p>\n<p>He quipped: &#8220;We are in Vegas, so you can maybe bet on that. I would say, &#8216;I wish them the best of luck!'&#8221;<\/p>\n<div aria-label=\"Consent required\" data-component-name=\"ui-vendor-monterosa\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" data-consent=\"pending\" data-vendor-name=\"monterosa\" data-project-id=\"9443a6d8-05c9-4b2a-9ce1-5bc678840601\" data-event-id=\"d7a609e2-07e3-4321-b224-653b14d9aa6d\">\n<p><span>Monterosa<\/span><br \/>\n            <span data-show-on-fallback=\"false\"><br \/>\n                This content is provided by <span>Monterosa<\/span>, which may be using cookies and other technologies.<br \/>\n                To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.<br \/>\n                You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable <span>Monterosa<\/span> cookies or to allow those cookies just once.<br \/>\n                You can change your settings at any time via the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.skysports.com\/#privacy-options\">Privacy Options<\/a>.<br \/>\n            <\/span><br \/>\n            <span data-show-on-fallback=\"true\"><br \/>\n                Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to <span>Monterosa<\/span> cookies.<br \/>\n                To view this content you can use the button below to allow <span>Monterosa<\/span> cookies for this session only.<br \/>\n            <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Sky Sports F1&#8217;s live Qatar GP schedule<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Thursday November 28<\/strong><br \/>3pm: Drivers&#8217; Press Conference<\/p>\n<p><strong>Friday November 29<\/strong><br \/>9.55am: F1 Academy Practice One<br \/>11am: F2 Practice<br \/><strong>1pm: Qatar GP Practice One (practice starts at 1.30pm)<\/strong><br \/>2.55pm: F1 Academy Practice Two<br \/>4.05pm: F2 Qualifying<br \/><strong>5pm: Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying (qualifying starts at 5.30pm)*<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Saturday November 30<\/strong><br \/>12.10pm: F1 Academy Qualifying<br \/><strong>1pm: Qatar GP Sprint build-up<br \/>2pm: QATAR GP SPRINT<\/strong><br \/>3.30pm: Ted&#8217;s Sprint Notebook<br \/>4pm: F2 Sprint Race<br \/><strong>5.15pm: Qatar GP Qualifying build-up<br \/>6pm: QATAR GP QUALIFYING<\/strong><br \/>8pm: F1 Academy: Race One<br \/>8.45pm: Ted&#8217;s Qualifying Notebook<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sunday December 1<\/strong><br \/>10.55am: F1 Academy Race Two<br \/>12.15pm: F2 Feature Race<br \/><strong>2.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up<\/strong><br \/><strong>4pm: The QATAR GRAND PRIX<\/strong><br \/><strong>6pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction<\/strong><br \/>7pm: Ted&#8217;s Notebook<\/p>\n<p><em>*also live on Sky Sports Main Event<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Formula 1&#8217;s season-ending triple-header continues this weekend with the Qatar Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/get-sky\"><strong>Get Sky Sports F1 or stream with NOW<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> Arden Haslett <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/f1\/news\/12433\/13260934\/max-verstappen-red-bull-driver-claims-he-would-have-won-f1-title-much-earlier-in-a-mclaren-car\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Max Verstappen has claimed he would also have won this year&#8217;s Formula 1 title had he been driving for McLaren instead of Red Bull, and much earlier! Verstappen clinched his fourth successive world title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday, two races from the end of a season during which Red Bull &#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":819558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[328,48934],"tags":[7110,48932],"class_list":{"0":"post-819557","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-driver","8":"category-verstappen","9":"tag-driver","10":"tag-verstappen"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}