Max Verstappen stayed true to himself during his celebration after he clinched his fourth straight Formula One world championship at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Though he spoke with his team through tears of joy while taking his victory lap around the circuit, he was mostly calm. However, when he later answered questions about perhaps the most difficult season of his career, a different emotion shone through: relief.
What seemingly began as another runaway year quickly turned into the most competitive F1 season in more than a decade. Verstappen was pushed in a way that he hadn’t been before, in a car that didn’t dominate the rest of the field. And like all great champions do, he rose above it.
