Verstappen lauded for incredible achievement: ‘That was a masterpiece’

Mike Krack has hailed Max Verstappen's fourth F1 drivers' championship his "best" after the Dutchman secured the title in the "struggling" RB20.

Speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, the Aston Martin chief trackside engineer, who was stood down from the team principal role earlier this year, pointed out how Red Bull's difficult 2024 allowed the 27-year-old's "excellence" to come out.

There was a gulf in class between Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez, who was subsequently replaced by Liam Lawson at the end of the year, something Krack highlighted to support his observation.

In particular, the 52-year-old was impressed by Verstappen's ability to turn around a seemingly lost cause of a race weekend - the backbone of his campaign.

Without his penchant for maximising results, the Red Bull driver would likely have met the same fate as his team. The Milton Keynes-based squad succumbed to McLaren and Ferrari in the constructors' standings, having won the previous two titles.

When asked for his impression of Verstappen, Krack zeroed in one specific grand prix to underline his "admiration" for him.

"Fantastic," he said to describe the Dutchman. "This year's [title] was probably the best we have seen from him, with a car that was struggling.

"You see the team-mate [Sergio Perez] was really struggling [in a] car that at times was not second or third best, in my opinion.

"And you saw that excellence come out. You see the true champion when it gets really difficult.

"We have seen massive, quick turnarounds, from a difficult practice session into a qualifying session where you think: 'Wow, how was this possible? They were struggling so much yesterday', or 'they were struggling so much this morning.'

"I have to say, Brazil, we saw the difference. Someone does not become four-time world champion [by] just cruising around, especially when you see this year - I think it was very tough for him and for the team.

"We can only take our hats off to how he has done that. I'm full of admiration, I have to be honest."

Krack: Brazil victory was Verstappen's 'masterpiece'

Krack feels Verstappen was particularly effective in "difficult conditions", a separating factor between the 63-time grand prix winner and his peers.

To illustrate his point, he elaborated on the Red Bull driver's performance in Brazil, claiming it is displays like such that draw those working in F1 to the championship.

"If we take Brazil, there was basically not much overtaking, even in the wet, but he just went through the field and left them all 30 seconds behind," Krack said. "That was a masterpiece.

"It's nice to see that. It's nice to see that there is a very high level of driving in Formula 1.

"But then there is something extra with some champions that we see, not every year, but we see it on occasion, and I think that is also one of the reasons why we do this, because we want to see that."