Max Verstappen F1 title defeat theory disputed: "For me he won it"

The manager of Max Verstappen has pinpointed where he feels the Red Bull driver lost out in his bid to become a record-equalling five-time F1 champion.

Verstappen ultimately fell two points shy of beating McLaren's Lando Norris to the crown, despite a staggering run following the summer break during which he scored 10 consecutive podiums, winning six grands prix.

As with a campaign in any sport, certain key moments are always highlighted as to where a title was won or lost, with the most obvious in Verstappen's case this year being his deliberate crash into Mercedes' George Russell during the Spanish GP.

That incident resulted in Verstappen collecting a 10-second penalty, demoting him from fifth at the chequered flag to 10th, costing him nine points, and with it the possibility of retaining his title.

Raymond Vermeulen feels there were other moments just as costly, but overall, it was the performance of the RB21 over the first half of the season that undermined Verstappen's chances.

"You can say that Kimi [Antonelli] took Max out in Austria," said Raymond Vermeulen, speaking to RacingNews365, and referencing the first-lap collision that wiped out both cars.

"And you could say the poor performance we had in Budapest [where Verstappen was a dismal ninth].

"Look at Lando, he had a DNF in Zandvoort. It's the game where we win. On paper, if you are collecting points, then, of course, you could calculate that we could have won it.

"But in fairness, we lost it at the start of the season. Max was very often on his own."

Vermeulen believes what Verstappen achieved was "something very special" and that "it was one of his strongest seasons ever".

Leading into the next topic, it was put to Vermeulen that although Verstappen did not win the title, leading to him interjecting, stating: "For me, he won it."

Verstappen at least finished the campaign strongly, both in terms of his performances with the RB21 and his mood, in contrast to the start when he was far from happy with the car. 

"If you're fighting with the car, and you can't get a lap time in, then it gets frustrating," said Vermeulen.

"But they turned the wheel around, and they had a new approach. Everyone was very motivated. They kept on developing the car until the last moment. So, the team did a very, very good job."