Verstappen: The season is not over yet

While Verstappen can now relax having successfully defended his 2023 F1 title, Red Bull Racing are on the back foot defending their constructors' title as they are now 53 points behind McLaren, who are in the lead, while Ferrari are in second place, 24 points behind the leaders.

With Sergio Perez not delivering the points Red Bull have hoped for, Verstappen has carried the team on his shoulders on his own, but with his RB20 not being the best car this season, it would be a great ask from the Dutchman to help his team defend his championship on his own.

Speaking in Red Bull's Qatar Grand Prix preview, Verstappen reflected: "Winning the Championship was an incredible moment and I'm so proud of what we have achieved as a Team and of myself too.

"This win really means a lot to us and being a four-time World Champion is something I never thought possible. I want to thank everyone part of this success for all the support this year, what a season we have had.

"There were difficult moments but we stuck together, never gave up and came back stronger, and this is what makes the season so special," he admitted.

Of this weekend's F1 race in Qatar, the final Sprint weekend in 2024, the four-time F1 champion added: "Looking to Qatar, we are still focused for this race and it will be a busy one being a Sprint.

"Of course the season is not over yet and we still want to keep the momentum going and bring home as many points as we can for the Team, so bring on the next two races," he concluded.

Perez had a disastrous qualifying in Las Vegas but drove well to finish 10th in the race and is hoping to repeat such form in the final two races of the season.

He said: "Las Vegas was positive in that we had the pace in the race and it was good to see us being able to be more competitive throughout.

"For the final two races, we need to make qualifying work and get the car in the right window on a more consistent basis, so that we can be starting where we should be on race days.

"Qatar holds totally different challenges to Vegas, so it'll he interesting to see how the car performs on the surface here, in totally different temperatures.

"The Sprint format means we lose time out on track but I have been at the factory with my Team this week to make sure we are as best prepared as we can be to hit the ground running on Friday," the Mexican concluded.

With the Qatar Grand Prix being a Sprint weekend, there will be 103 points available in the F1 constructors' championship in the final two races of the 2024 season.