Red Bull Racing Honda driver Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 22nd round of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship, and the 26 points he scored was enough for him to take the World Championship title.
This is Verstappen’s first-ever title and for Honda, it is the first for 30 years, since Ayrton Senna won it in 1991.
The Dutchman, now 24, made his debut in 2015, when he was just 17 years old, making him the youngest ever driver to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Even back then, he was already tipped for greatness. In 2019, he won the Austrian Grand Prix, to give Honda its first win in the current hybrid era. So far this season, Verstappen has won 10 races, starting with the second round, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, also taking victory in the historic race around the streets of Monaco, as well as his home Grand Prix on F1’s return to Zandvoort.
“It feels incredible to be World Champion and I couldn’t have asked for a more insane last race of the year,” says Max Verstappen, It was a bit of a rollercoaster, from not really having a chance of winning until the last lap, everything came together, and we had to go for it. I kept saying to myself, I am just going to give it my all and I have until the end and that is what we did.” says Max Verstappen.
Verstappen’s racing career includes bagging 3rd place in the 2014 FIA European Formula 3 Championship. He also debuted as the youngest F1 driver ever during the 2015 F1. Additionally, he has consistently been in the top 10 of the Formula One Drivers Championship from 2016 – 2020.