Verstappen Unplugged: A final candid look back on 2024

After a 2023 F1 season of dominance, this year seemed like a repeat of last as Verstappen powered to victory in seven of the first ten races. But then the challenge came, as Red Bull faltered with the development of the RB20 both Max and teammate, Mexican veteran Sergio Perez were in trouble. McLaren were top of the pecking order thanks to their positive updates mid-season, while Ferrari and Mercedes were relentless in their pursuit.

This resulted in a glorious F1 season with seven different winners, with Verstappen ending the year top of a queue of the best drivers F1 has ever witnessed in one generation.

In what was the final official Red Bull interview of 2024 on the Talking Bull podcast, Verstappen shared his thoughts on the season past and a myriad of personal subjects. Below are highlights of the interview:

Max Verstappen: The last few weeks have definitely been able to enjoy it a bit more. Of course, when I started racing, it would sound pretty insane to even think about that, but yeah, now that we are here, yeah, very proud. It's been a very long season, of course, as well. So from like enjoying it still racing. I'm also really looking forward to actually just resting up a little bit.

Max: it's super exciting, of course. Luckily, I did get a little bit of training, you know, with Penelope, seeing her grow up ready for like, four years, yeah, which has been also, you know, really, really nice. But yeah, for sure, you know, when it's like, also, like, fully, you want to be fully your own. Yeah, it's, it's going to be different challenge, but I'm looking forward to it.

Max: I was very upset with qualifying, almost. Well, actually I wanted to destroy my room. But then I walked into my room and my dad [Jos Verstappen] was sitting there, he was very calm. I was so angry. And then I see him so calm that actually calmed me down. When I think back about the day, I could really feel the hurt, we were preparing for the race, because everything, of course, happened on the same day qualifying. And yeah, it was a lot of sad faces, I would say. Because, you know, you're starting P 17, your main rival is starting first, so it could be a massive point swing, and we couldn't really use that at that point of the championship. So everyone was quite nervous. But then it rained. It was a wet day. I jumped in the car, and I was like, of course, I like the conditions. I like to drive in the wet. But you never know what, what will happen or can happen, because at the same time, you know you might be taken out, or you spin off the track yourself, because it's very difficult. But then as soon as the race went on the way, yeah, it was, it was good. It was nice. I enjoyed it a lot. I felt good with the car. And yeah, step by step, you know, driving to the front again,

Max: Honestly, I don't think the race in Vegas will be in the top 100 of my races. It was not really exciting for me, but I did what I had to do. That for me was the most important on that day.

Max: I met up with [Dutch DJ] Martin Garrix He was playing there the whole weekend. So I met up with him because I only left the track at like 4.30 in the morning, yes, so of course, already at the time, I had a few drinks in me. So yeah, it was great, honestly. Also some people in the team joined and yeah, we had a great time. Laughing a lot. Of course, nothing really too serious at the same time. Then we ended up back in our hotel, at the bar in the casino at what time nine in the morning. People are gambling, people are having breakfast, and some people are drinking. There it doesn't really matter what time. You never really know the time in Vegas, you can always drink and go for breakfast.

Max: People always make it really like a lot worse on social media, a lot of idiots on that platform that, yeah, they always have something to say, something to complain about. You know, there was a lot of positive people, but also some proper idiots. Yeah, I think it's better just to ignore all of that. But Lando and I get on very well. Of course, at times you got a bit tense on track, but off track, that shouldn't matter. We always try to do the best we can. On track, we try to get the best possible result and you are fighting for a world championship. I think it's normal that this can happen. But, yeah, Lando and I, we're good.

Max: It means a lot, it's not been the easiest. For everyone in the team, that's a lot of people under pressure. We all wanted to do well. We came off a season where we basically dominated. Yeah. I never expected it to be like that again. But at the same time, I also didn't expect it to be like like it was in the middle of the season. I'm very proud of everyone, how we all stuck together. We didn't panic, we always tried to find improvements for the car and just tried to understand our issues. We did that very well, we can be very proud of how we handled it all. I mean, there were some races where everyone was disappointed, not happy. But instead of just sitting there, not doing anything, and just being upset with the situation, everyone got to work and yeah, that was great to see.

Max: They are very different. I mean, all of them are different, which I think is nice. The first one will always be the most emotional one, because for me, at that point, it felt like my career was completed. Because that is the ultimate goal. You can win two, more, three, more, or four more. It's the same thing. It's nice to add a few, but the first one, that is your ultimate goal achieved. But then the second one was very nice and different for different reasons. Tough start, a dominant end. Then last year was very dominant. So that, for me, was the most enjoyable one, because we were winning so much. But then this one was not straightforward to win, we had few tough moments, and you realize actually, like, how easily you can get used to success as well. Yeah. So yeah, they are very different.

Max: Winning my first race, I think was great because I just joined the team in my first weekend, and it's always.... very nervous going to work out in a top team, you don't know. But that was a great start. Just calmed everything down a little bit at the time. So very proud of handling that that weekend, and just the pressure in general,. But for the rest, it's great to win more races, like winning streaks. But at the same time, I'm also just really proud of working with so many incredibly talented people, because anything else that I will ever do in life racing related, I think, will never come close to what we have done so far, and I'm very well aware of that. So I'm also really trying to remember the moments you know, that we had together, that we have already achieved, and hopefully also moments to come.

Max: The ones that I liked were the ones in the wet in Brazil because I knew they were incredibly important at the time. So a few of those Turn 1 overtakes, were good. Yeah, late on the breaks, not locking up.

Max: I would like to win of course, but it's not about the targets of winning five in a row or winning how many in total. For me, I'm in a team that I think is capable of winning those chairmanships. I'm very excited about what we come up with again for next year. I hope it's quick enough. I know when it's quick enough, and you all know, I'll do the rest! I just hope that we are competitive, that we are back up there again and we can have a lot of incredible moments together.

Max: I joined Red Bull I was a proper rookie. Just seeing what the team already had achieved up until then, it was seriously impressive to be part of that. And of course, in the beginning, you know, we had a few tough years because, you know, went from championship-winning years [with Sebastian Vettel] to years where we constantly fighting to get back up there. And not always entirely our fault, I would say. But just like the atmosphere. I could always be myself and I really like the team atmosphere, there's a lot of nice people. And I think that is so important, you know, to be, to be part of a team where you can be yourself and you can have a good time. Because, of course, we're all here to try and win and try to do well. We try to be the best of ourselves, but at the same time, these years fly by, and once you stop, you also want to look back and realize that you actually had a good time while doing it. That's what I appreciate about the team, the people they've always been super nice to me, and very supportive. I'm just very thankful to be, to be part of the team.