Max Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive Drivers’ World Championship at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, and says he’s still hungry for more.

Verstappen matched the record of Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel by wrapping up his fourth world title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, after a difficult season in which Red Bull’s pace proved sporadic after a dominant start to the season.

Max Verstappen: Red Bull pulled it over the line

Having dominated the first quarter of the season, the development path of the Red Bull RB20 went in the wrong direction, resulting in an ill-handling car that saw Verstappen’s championship lead in danger as Lando Norris and McLaren piled on the pressure.

His last race win in Barcelona during the summer was followed by a long fallow spell which only ended in Brazil as Verstappen put in an emphatic wet-weather drive to put the title all but out of reach of Norris.

In Las Vegas, while Red Bull wasn’t able to challenge for the victory, a considered drive from Verstappen saw him come home ahead of Norris and wrap up his fourth consecutive title.

“It’s been a long season,” Verstappen said after the chequered flag.

“We started off amazing, it was almost like cruising but then we had a tough run.

“But, as a team, we kept it together.

We kept working on improvements, and we pulled it over the line. I’m incredibly proud of everyone, what they have done for me. To stand here as a four-time world champion is something that I never thought was possible.

“So I’m just feeling relieved, in a way, but also very proud.”

With Verstappen making his debut in Formula 1 a decade ago at the start of F1 2025, the Dutch driver admitted he “definitely” had never dreamed of writing his name in the history books in the way he has in the years since.

“I was just happy to be there and dreaming of potential victories or standing on the podium, you know, the normal things that are already very difficult to achieve,” he said.

“Then we just got on to that run after a tough few years where we kept trying. We just hit the ground running with the new concept and yeah, to be standing here as a four-time world champion is just incredible.”

More on Max Verstappen in F1

👉 Max Verstappen net worth: How the World Champion has built his incredible fortune

👉 Max Verstappen car collection: What supercars does the F1 World Champion own?

Acknowledging what has been a difficult year for Red Bull on and off-track, Verstappen said he’s come away from the challenge having learned some lessons – it has been a far tougher challenge than the two dominant seasons in 2022 and ’23.

“It was a very challenging season. Also, as a person, you know, at times, it’s very challenging, and I had to be calm,” he said.

“Of course, I still preferred last season, I enjoyed that a lot! But I think this season definitely, again, taught me a lot of lessons that I’m very proud of, how we handled it, also as a team.

“So in a way, of course, that makes it also a very, very special and beautiful season.”

This year also saw plenty of speculation about Verstappen possibly leaving Red Bull before the end of his contract, with Mercedes publicly courting the Dutch driver as rumours of all sorts swirled about the dynamic within the team.

But Verstappen put all that speculation aside as he paid tribute to the Milton Keynes-based squad which has made him a quadruple World Champion.

“What can I say?” he said.

“I mean, we have been through a lot together, and all these highs that we are achieving right now is just very, very special to do that with all the group of people that we have here at the track and back at the factory that they’re continuously pushing flat out to give me the car to fight for a title and to do that four times in a row is very special.”

As for any thoughts that Verstappen’s hunger may have been satiated by such success, the Dutch driver said he’s eager for more as he embarks on a fifth consecutive title defence in a few months time.

“Looking to next year right now, I think it’s going to be a proper battle between a lot of cars,” he said.

“But yeah, I’m hungry. Of course, I’m going to enjoy this, but there are still two more races that I want to do well at the same time.

“Then, of course, we take a little break, and then we try and go at it again next year.”

Read Next: F1 points all-time rankings: Where do Hamilton, Verstappen and Alonso feature?