Max Verstappen has received praise from former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, for using his "maximum" to overcome Red Bull having an "inferior" car to its rivals. Whilst Red Bull had the strongest package in the opening rounds, the Milton Keynes-based team quickly fell behind McLaren and at times Ferrari in the pecking order. This was highlighted by Verstappen's 10-race winless streak, which concluded heroically in São Paulo after winning from 17th on the grid. Verstappen had been dominant at the start of 2024, winning seven of the opening 10 races. At the time, the RB20 was the dominant package, with Verstappen having won the season-opener in Bahrain by 22.5s. From mid-season onwards, Red Bull struggled to string together consistent results, whilst Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were busy claiming wins for McLaren. Ultimately, McLaren claimed a first constructors' crown since 1998, with Red Bull having settled for third. This was not through Verstappen's doing, as Sergio Perez scored just 49 points across the final 18 races. Verstappen had to be at his very best to contest just for top five finishes, yet still did enough to comfortably win another drivers' title. "There are the great champions and then there are the champions like Sofia Goggia in skiing, Federica Pellegrini in swimming, or Jannik Sinner in tennis," said Di Montezemolo, speaking on the 'La Politica nel Pallone' on Radio GR Parlamento. "In F1 Verstappen is a champion, he has always been very strong even with go-karts. "This year he had to ask the maximum of himself: he had a car inferior to McLaren and in some cases even to Ferrari".
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