Verstappen: If I'd been in that car of his, the season would've been decided long ago

In retrospect, it shows the Red Bull driver's state of mind before that historic night at Yas Marina Circuit, when he achieved his dream. The barb while directed at his archrival Lewis Hamilton and at Mercedes, at the same time was also a 'slap in the face' for Adrian Newey and his team regarding the car they built for the Dutch ace.

With the RB16B, Verstappen won 10 Grands Prix on his way to the Title, two more than Hamilton. While Sergio Perez was also victorious, once in the sister car, while in the other Mercedes Valtteri Bottas went winless, suggesting Red Bull had a better car in the long run.

Speaking to De Telegraaf ahead of the season finale (in an interview that went under the radar at the time), the interviewer noted to Verstappen that he omitted to mention his rivals - Hamilton and Mercedes by name, to which he replied: "That's right. It happens during a season like this, too much has happened for that.”

The World Champ clearly referenced the numerous headline-grabbing bust-ups during the course of a hard-fought season, one of the greatest of all time.

Asked if the high-speed crash at Silverstone, which hospitalised Verstappen was a reason for the breakdown, the Dutch ace said: “Not just because of that moment but throughout the season. The image I have of certain people has changed... and not in a positive way.

"It doesn't matter to me, it's not that I hate it but I've seen that when the pressure is on, certain people show a different face. Then the true colours emerge.”

Asked if he believed Hamilton fears him as a rival, Max said: “He will never admit that. At least I'm not afraid of him. Yeah, I think I'll make him nervous if he sees me in his mirrors.

"He's a different driver than me, less aggressive. He doesn't know how to race the way I do. I can't blame him for that either, because he was never able to learn that like I did from my father."

"Yes, absolutely!" insisted the 24-year-old. "But I don't need to hear that from anyone else. I don't need that recognition. I find it much more important what I think myself, and what the people who are close to me think. If I had been in his car, the season would have been decided long ago.”

One could liken Verstappen's bullish talk to the boxing style 'trash-talking' before a great bout, their F1 team bosses Toto Wolff and Christian Horner did a fair share of that, as did Hamilton in his cunning ways.

But, again like boxing, once the bout was over, hugs were shared and Verstappen went on to speak highly of Hamilton: "What was nice was that immediately after the race, he came up to me. We had our moments throughout the year when we clashed but we really respect each other.

"We have pushed each other to the limit. Most of the time - all the racers - we were on the limit of what we could do, what the car could do.

"It must have been incredibly tough on Lewis and the team but he has won seven titles so maybe that comforts him in a way. Next year I'm sure he will be delivering to his very best, which is a very, very high level.

"He's been an amazing competitor. It has been a real pleasure driving against him" added Verstappen.

This begs the question: might Lewis have won the Title with the RB16B sooner than Max did? Alas, we will never know, but for sure Max thinks not!