Max Verstappen emphasized that he felt like the Formula 1 world champion and that “it doesn’t matter what you try”.
Red Bull Verstappen clinched victory in the season final race on Sunday in Abu Dhabi and the title after the deployment of a late safety car meant that the Dutchman was placed right behind Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton, whom he then overtook on the final lap.
Mercedes had an immediate double complaint rejected by the law enforcement officers and then appealed against this decision – they have to decide whether to continue until Thursday evening.
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Verstappen was asked on Wednesday how he felt in the uncertainty and whether his relationship with Mercedes and team boss Toto Wolff had broken permanently.
And the 24 year old said, “I’m fine, I don’t even think about it because I feel like the world champion and it doesn’t matter what they try.
“We won it on the track, we won it when the green light was given and we overtook them on the track and they will never be able to take that away from me anyway.
“About the possible calling – I’m not concerned with that. As a team that may of course be annoying, but we really enjoyed the last few days for us. “
Max Verstappen won in Abu Dhabi after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the final lap (PA)
Verstappen – who had already revealed to Wolff after the race on Sunday that he had sent him a congratulatory text message – then added: “The relationship – I think I can be a forgiving person, but at the moment everything is so new … it too much of.
“But I saw Toto in Monaco outside of Saudi Arabia, I had dinner and he was sitting next to me at the table and we were talking. Of course he gives everything for his team and I know that mine does everything they can.
“But other than that, I think you should accept loss, it doesn’t matter how much it hurts. I do think that there is a slight difference between the teams. “
Before the showdown in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen said his opinion of seven-time British champions Hamilton and Mercedes had changed over the course of the season, and “not for the better”.
Regarding the current appointment situation, he said on Wednesday: “That is not surprising, just because the season has already run until the last race, so just a little more. My view (of Mercedes) won’t change, it’s pretty much the same. “
Verstappen also said of the title fight he had with Hamilton this year: “You can finally fight with a completely equal machine. You can really see what he’s capable of, because in some seasons he had it a little easier and you don’t have to push throughout the race. “
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said of the appeal situation: “I think the official deadline is until 7pm tomorrow, so that the right to appeal exists, but Max Verstappen is the world champion, we welcomed him at home at Red Bull Racing today and I think it’s really time to move on.
Verstappen alongside Red Bull team principal Christian Horner (PA)
“Hopefully he’ll get the trophy tomorrow evening (at the FIA awards gala in Paris) and be crowned world champion. I have no other clues – I didn’t speak to Mercedes or the FIA at the time to hear anything else.
“The focus is on celebrating the successes that the team and Max have achieved this year. This is a dispute between the FIA and Mercedes.
“If the unthinkable should happen, we would of course question it in an appropriate way, but Max became world champion for us, we haven’t heard anything else and I expect him to.” Get the trophy tomorrow evening.
“I know a lot of people have been affected by the events of the last five laps of Abu Dhabi – but if you look at the 22 races, he is without a doubt a very deserved world champion.”
Horner added, “Safety cars were absolutely the right way to get a vehicle out of a dangerous position, especially when there are marshals on the track, so the race director made the right decision.
He also received a congratulatory text from Wolff after the race, said Horner. Since then I haven’t heard from him or spoken to him. “
The FIA, the global governing body of motorsport, will investigate the events of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix through its World Motor Sport Council.
In a statement by the FIA on Wednesday evening, it says: “This matter will be discussed and addressed with all teams and drivers in order to learn from this situation and to provide participants, media and fans with clarity about the current regulations, the competitive nature of our sport and at the same time to ensure the safety of drivers and officials. “
