Max Verstappen claims ‘full control’ during ‘questionable moments’ on track

Max Verstappen says he was always in “full control” of his actions even in the midst of “questionable moves and moments” during his 2024 battles with Lando Norris.

Formula 1 witnessed the birth of a new rivalry in 2024 as Norris not only made his mark as a Grand Prix winner but also a title contender as he closed in on Verstappen in the standings.

Max Verstappen: I hate losing

After putting in one of Formula 1’s most dominant displays ever in 2023 when he won 19 of 22 Grands Prix, Verstappen was made to work hard for his fourth World title as he had to overcome not only Red Bull’s misstep with their upgrades but also McLaren’s gains.

Eight races without a victory spanning from Austria to Singapore saw the pressure increase on Verstappen to maintain his lead in the Drivers’ Championship while two wins for Norris during that period meant he went into the United States GP with a sniff at P1, only 52 points off the pace.

The protagonists went wheel-to-wheel at the Circuit of The Americas, the battle intensifying on lap 52 as Norris chased down Verstappen before trying to overtake him around the outside of Turn 12. Verstappen ran him wide and Norris was given a penalty for overtaking the Red Bull driver off the track.

Although Verstappen’s antics were debated by pundits, everything he did was within the regulations.

Fast forward a week to Mexico and they were at it again, but this time Norris had the apex and Verstappen was penalised for forcing him off the track at Turn 4 while four corners later he was hit with another penalty for overtaking Norris off the track in what the McLaren driver called a “dangerous” move.

Verstappen was unapologetic for his actions amidst criticism from former British drivers Martin Brundle and Damon Hill that he was tainting his legacy.

“I’ve heard that before in my career,” he said. “It’s my tenth year in Formula 1. I think I know what I’m doing.”

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He remains unapologetic, the Dutchman telling Spanish daily Marca that he was always in control of his actions during his battles against the Briton.

“There have been tough races, questionable moves and moments, but I know what I’m doing, I’m in full control of what I’m doing,” he said.

“I’m in full control of what I’m executing on the track. Sometimes you need to do everything you can to win.”

“I hate losing,” he added. “I can recognise when someone does a better job, but it’s still not nice to lose.”

Verstappen bounced back from the controversy of Austin and Mexico to break Norris’ title challenge at the Brazilian Grand Prix with arguably one of Formula 1’s best-ever wet-weather drives.

Racing in the rain, Verstappen came from 17th on the grid to win the Grand Prix by 16 seconds, his first win in 10 races, while pole-sitter Norris dropped from first to sixth. Verstappen wrapped up the World title at the next race in Las Vegas.

The 27-year-old heads into F1 2025 chasing a fifth successive World title and if there’s anything he needs to work on himself to achieve that, he isn’t saying.

“I don’t feel like I have any weaknesses, and of course I would never admit it anyway!” he said.

“I also have a very open mind because I know I can always be better, but I also know that it is very difficult… I know that in just one weekend, people can have incredible performances, but it is about how you can maintain a very good performance throughout the year.”

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