Max Verstappen clinched his fourth world championship last time out at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and there is less pressure on him with two races to go.
The Dutchman impressively minimised the damage, as McLaren and Ferrari were quicker than Red Bull for most of the season.
Verstappen was able to resist Lando Norris, who had opportunities to close the gap and make the defending champion’s life more difficult.
Norris made critical errors, particularly at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil as Verstappen came from 17th on the grid to win.
Verstappen showed he could win the world championship without having the quickest car on the grid after a consistent season.
The Red Bull driver answered a question about whether he could have won for McLaren, which prompted a response from Leclerc and the 1996 world champion Damon Hill on Instagram.
Max Verstappen commented he could’ve won the championship in a McLaren
Verstappen drove impressively to win the championship, while McLaren made a lot of mistakes, which halted their championship challenge with Norris.
The Dutchman has finished in the top six at every event he’s seen the chequered flag as he retired with mechanical trouble in Australia.
Verstappen explained he would’ve won the championship in a McLaren and Ferrari, which were very quick throughout the middle season.
READ MORE: McLaren told they made one ‘huge mistake’ that cost Lando Norris in his title fight with Max Verstappen
He said: “Yes, even earlier. Ferrari pretty much the same’ When asked if he could’ve won the title in a McLaren.”
Leclerc disagreed and responded by saying its slightly far fetched to say Verstappen could have won the title for the Italian team. The Monegasque said: “It’s a bit of a stretch to say something like that.”
Damon Hill took to Instagram to respond with a six-word message in support of Verstappen and his stance on the matter. The 1996 world champion posted: “Frank talking is good for F1.”
Max Verstappen has become known as a very direct person in Formula 1
Verstappen will be looking for his fifth consecutive world championship next season if Red Bull can be consistently competitive over the season.
The Dutchman has been known to say what he thinks over his Formula 1 career which began with Toro Rosso in 2015.
He has pushed the Red Bull team, and Verstappen didn’t talk to Gianpiero Lambiase for days after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
There is less pressure on the Red Bull driver heading into the final two rounds after taking the championship.
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