Max Verstappen won his first world championship in Formula One this season. He defeated the reigning champion Lewis Hamilton in an intense season-long title fight. Expectedly, the Red Bull ace won the Dutch Sportsman of the Year for 2021.

The fellow top athletes from the Netherlands voted for the Red Bull driver as the Sportsman of the Year. He beat the likes of Olympic champions Niek Kimmann and Harrie Lavreysen to win the prize for the second time in his career.

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Max Verstappen wins the Dutch Sportsman of the Year 2021

As reported by Formule1.nl, Max could not attend the ceremony, and his father Jos Verstappen collected the award. Jos also gave the reason for Max’s absence from the ceremony.

“It was a tough year, emotionally too. After winning the world title, many emotions were released. The past few weeks have been exhausting. He still had a lot to do after the last race.

Max is happy that he is now on vacation because he didn’t feel like doing anything for a while. It’s good for him to get away for a while,” said Jos Verstappen.

Max too had previously mentioned that he will take some time off to spend time with family and friends. The intensity of the 2021 season had taken a toll on his body and he would look to recharge and come back strongly for the 2022 season.

“It has been hectic all the way through, so I’m also pretty tired at the moment after always trying to be perfect and on top of my game. Winning the championship, your body needs a bit of time to recover,” said the 2021 world champion.

Max deserves a rest after the 2021 season. He also deserves all the accolades that he has been receiving since winning the title. He had a once-in-a-lifetime season to win the championship. Let’s hope that he can put up a strong defense of his title in 2022.

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