Max Verstappen believes that he would have won the World Championship sooner than in Las Vegas, had he been driving a McLaren car all year – a theory that title rival Lando Norris strongly denies.
The Dutchman clinched his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship title during the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday with two races to spare after finishing fifth, one place above Norris on the road.
The two championship protagonists have been trading blows since the Miami Grand Prix, but ultimately, it was the cushion built up over the first five races that saw the reigning world champion over the line. Heading into the final two events of the year, Verstappen has won just once since the Spanish Grand Prix back in June.
During this period, Norris added two race victories to his maiden triumph in Miami and was made to rue missed opportunities in Austria, Silverstone and Monza. The pace advantage enjoyed by McLaren has allowed the Woking-based team to take a 24-point lead in the Constructors’ Championship heading into the Qatar Grand Prix.
According to Verstappen, he would have done what Norris could not and sealed the World Championship title in the MCL38. “Yes, even sooner,” he said, having stated: “Things like that only motivate me. If people are critical and think I can only win in the best car, I prove them wrong.”
Verstappen also believes that he would have won the 2021 title before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, had he been driving Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes machinery. “[I would have won] in 2021 too. 2022 might have been tricky, they (Ferrari) were a bit too fragile for that, I think. 2023 I don’t think so.”
This theory, however, has been brushed aside by an adamant Norris. “No, definitely not,” he told The Telegraph in Las Vegas. “I mean, no one ever in the history of Formula One has come back from the size of deficit I had.
“No one. Ever. And there have been much bigger swings of performance of cars in the past than there has been now. The advantage they had in the beginning of the season over everyone was way more than we’ve had.”
Fortunately for Norris and McLaren, his team are still in with a chance of taking home silverware in the form of the Constructors’ Championship, although the momentum is with Ferrari and after concerning P6 and P7 finishes in Las Vegas, the onus is on Andrea Stella’s squad to bounce back in Qatar.
