For the fourth year in a row, Red Bull star driver Max Verstappen has clinched the Formula 1 driver’s championship. All he needed was to beat his rival Lando Norris at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and a P5 finish was enough for him to seal the deal. And this title win is indeed a special one, as Verstappen became only the sixth driver in F1 history to have four or more championships.

This fourth title was far from a straightforward win for the Red Bull Star. He started the 2024 season with a bang, winning seven of the ten first races. However, after his victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen would have to wait another 10 races to claim the checkered flag at Sau Paolo, Brazil.

Reflecting on his season, the driver said, “It’s been a long season, and of course, we started off amazing; it was almost like cruising, but then we had a tough run. But as a team, we kept it together, we kept working on improvements, and we pulled off the win. So at the moment I’m just feeling very relieved, in a way, but also proud.”

During the 10-race drought, McLaren’s star driver, Lando Norris, was gaining on Max in terms of points. Red Bull Camp struggled to find the pace they had for most of the season. Moreover, Zak Brown also tried to play mind games and tried to get inside the head of the 4-time champ. “I don’t think Max wins the world championship today in any other car other than the Red Bull,” Brown said on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

It seems like Verstappen used this as fuel to bag another championship, and he hit back at the McLaren boss while celebrating with his team. Brown was walking by the paddock to congratulate the four-time champion, and this is where Verstappen aimed a dig at him. “And like you said, before I could only win it in the fastest car.” Moreover, Dutch journalist Erik Van Haren reported Verstappen’s second jab at Zak Brown after the Red Bull driver had celebrated with beers and gin. Verstappen said, “Would I have become champion in the McLaren? Yes! And much earlier too. In 2021 I would have also won the title in a different car.”

It was clear Max Verstappen struggled to tame the RB20. Unlike the previous iteration of the car, the RB19 which dominated the 2023 season, the RB20 failed miserably halfway through the season. It was evident with the win drought Verstappen faced, and the lack of pace compared to the Ferraris and Mercedes at certain points of time. Its pace gap to the McLaren was all too different. The papaya car was simply on another level this year, with the British team bouncing back in the ground-effect era. They went from bottom grid team to the likely Constructors Champions this year.

Although this was nothing but bantering, this drunk response by the Red Bull Star hit home with the race fans.

F1 fans rally behind Max Verstappen’s bold dig aimed towards the McLaren camp

Last year Max won 19 of the 22 races to claim the championship in a landslide win. But this year he had to tackle a few bumps along the road. While McLaren certainly had the window of opportunity to close the gap on their rivals, they weren’t able to close the deal. And the 2024 year by no means was a dull outing for the Red Bull team; this was highlighted by a race fan: “Yeah, people are quick to forget that the Red Bull bulldozed the start of the season, and McLaren took a fair few races to get there. Not denying Max has been a (big) cut above the rest all year though.“

Now we all know F1 drivers celebrate with champagne upon winning the race. So you could only imagine the scale of celebration inside the Red Bull camp after their fourth straight victory. Verstappen’s dig at Zak Brown could’ve been a result of liquid courage, but the fans would prefer this version of Max over a sober Lando. “Buzzed Max is more reasonable than sober Lando.”

For some reason or not, most of the non-Red Bull fans were hoping for a change in guard. One could argue that Verstappen isn’t as classy as Lewis Hamilton or other former champions. But when it comes to getting the job done on the racetrack, he certainly is on top of his game and in a league of his own. Therefore, to see his favorite driver silencing his critics had this fan buzzing, “Talk your sh*t Max, you deserve it and earned it.”

The 2007 F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen is certainly the best in the business of delivering savage comments. Unfiltered and unapologetic, he certainly did not hold any punches when it came to sharing his opinions. And Verstappen’s response to Zak Brown had shades of it, according to this fan, “Max engaging Kimi Raikkonen mode.”

Meanwhile, a few McLaren fans were holding their own against this fury of comments. One of them was hoping that Brown just might have a response to this dig by Verstappen. “Can’t wait to see how Zak is going to respond to this one, lol.”

Well, healthy rivalry and banter is something that keeps the sport entertaining. And Formula 1 racing can only get better with some more on-track rivalry.