F1 | Red Bull, Verstappen on winning the title: “It was a team effort, I wouldn't have done it without them”

After the Abu Dhabi tests, in which he had the opportunity to try the 18-inch tires that will characterize the 2022 season, Max Verstappen finally returned to the Milton Keynes factory to celebrate his first career world title with the entire team.

A special occasion to celebrate an intense season, which ended with a world championship that Red Bull had been missing for eight years now, when Sebastian Vettel achieved his fourth consecutive personal triumph. Waiting for the Dutchman upon his arrival at the headquarters was the entire team, gathered in the square in front of the entrance: “The arrival was fantastic, they were all outside waiting for me despite the cold. Coming back here as a world champion is a fantastic feeling”, explained Max in an interview given to the microphones of the Anglo-Austrian team.

“It was undoubtedly a team effort. Winning the drivers' title is fantastic, but I wouldn't have done it without the support of the team, even the people at the factory, who continued to push to make the car faster. For me, being part of this team is fantastic. I could continue for another 10-15 years together, because there is no reason to leave this team and I have a great relationship with everyone. This is where I want to stay for a long time", added Verstappen, underlining the commitment of the team which continued to develop the single-seater even in the second half of the championship in order to achieve the world championship title.

Both during the return lap and during the celebrations, despite his character which rarely lets a certain type of emotion shine through, Max was unable to hide his satisfaction at achieving what had been his dream since childhood, shedding a few tears in that snapshot alongside his RB16B which will undoubtedly go down in history: “Certainly during the return lap and when I got out of the car, all the emotions came out. It's something you don't see often from me, but winning the title was my goal, so a few tears were inevitable. But in the end it doesn't completely change my life, I'm still the same person, I still have the same friends and I still live in the same apartment. It's my dream of a life coming true, but the way I live my life hasn't changed, it's still the same.”

Verstappen, who from next year will abandon the number 33 to move to number 1, also added a few words to thank his teammate, Sergio Perez, without whom the title most likely would not have been achieved: “I had already said it during the race, but Checo is a legend. What he did for me to close the gap [to Hamilton] and the defense he did was incredible. I owe him a lot, without him I wouldn't be world champion,” the Dutchman then concluded.