How manager Raymond Vermeulen assesses Max Verstappen’s fourth world championship title win in Formula 1 and why he also had doubts at times
Without Max Verstappen, Red Bull would have nothing to celebrate in the 2024 Formula 1 season. This sums up what Raymond Vermeulen, as the manager of the now four-time world champion, explained in an interview with Motorsport.com Netherlands on the occasion of the title win. His thesis: Verstappen has shown immense mental strength this year.
“He can have a really bad weekend and then, of course, he’s annoyed. But then he deals with it. That’s one of his greatest strengths: to do that reset and start from scratch every weekend. He therefore goes into every Grand Prix incredibly strong. I don’t think that’s the case with every driver,” says Vermeulen.
And these qualities were needed more than ever in 2024, after all, unlike in previous years, Red Bull did not dominate throughout. That is why winning the 2024 World Cup title has a “very special” significance for Verstappen manager Vermeulen, because it was “not just another walk in a sovereign manner”, but because the season developed “quite differently” than initially thought.
Verstappen as the world champion maker of Red Bull
Because although Verstappen started the racing year with a winning streak, by the summer Red Bull’s winning form had suddenly disappeared and their opponents had grown stronger. The fourth consecutive world championship title was in jeopardy because the RB20 was suddenly “difficult to drive,” as Vermeulen explained.
He is “super proud and super satisfied” precisely because it was Verstappen who had to do it himself. “There were also some technical problems. So Max really had to give it his all this year. And I think he deserves this title more than ever, because he didn’t have a dominant car.”
Verstappen himself estimates that he did not have the fastest car in the field for over 70 percent of the season. As his manager, Vermeulen agrees: “That’s right. In Las Vegas, we saw where we stand: with fifth place in the race. We don’t have a championship-worthy car at the moment.”
Why there were doubts about winning the title in 2024
This technical deficit sowed doubts in the Verstappen camp at times, Vermeulen admits: “Internally, we always said – also in conversation with Jos – ‘Max, this year it could turn out one way or the other.’ In the end, it turned out right.”
Despite the difficult sporting situation in the summer and fall, Vermeulen insists that Verstappen has always received a lot of support from “everyone around him.” “And we always believed in him.”