Max Verstappen on His F1 Title Triumph: “You Need a Bit of Luck in Your Life, Otherwise I Think the Championship Would’ve Been Decided Way Earlier”

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was arguably the most enthralling season finale in a long time. The two title protagonists went into the last race tied on equal points. Max Verstappen ended up winning his maiden world title, albeit controversially. The 2021 F1 world champion believes he got a stroke of luck at the right time towards the end.

The championship battle kept changing tides through almost the entire season. It looked all over for Hamilton after the Mexico GP, but the Brackley team bounced back, winning the next three races. The Briton had a bit of luck going in his favor in Jeddah when Verstappen found the barriers on his flying lap and lost out on pole position.

After the championship-clinching win at the Abu Dhabi GP, the Dutchman admits he got lucky with the decisions in the final laps going in his favor.

Luck came at the right time: Max Verstappen

The Dutchman was at the height of his powers this season, having won 10 Grand Prix and 18 podium finishes. However, the Championship win didn’t come easily for the Red Bull prodigy. Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton was gunning for his record 8th title and showed an all-out commitment on the track.

In a recent interview with Sky Sports F1, Verstappen was asked if he had a bit of luck or fate in his favor towards the end. The Red Bull star had a rather straightforward answer to it.

“Well, it’s always difficult to really use the right word for it. You need a bit of luck in your life and up until that point, I didn’t really have a lot of luck in this season. Otherwise, I think the championship would have been decided way earlier,” said the 2021 F1 champion.

“So, yeah! Luck came at the right time for me and then you still have to take the opportunity which we did as a team,” he added.

In the end, Lewis Hamilton went straight to his Red Bull counterpart and congratulated him. Notably, the Mercedes team was not in line with the decisions taken towards the end, but Hamilton was gracious enough to show true sportsmanship.

Now that the 2021 season is over, all the teams are underway with the post-season testing in Abu Dhabi, before heading into the winter break. What are your predictions for the 2022 season?

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