Max Verstappen’s old boss pinpoints the moment his rivals should have ‘handed in their racing licenses’

Max Verstappen has put himself among the greatest names in Formula 1 after securing his fourth consecutive world championship.

His 2024 title has arguably been his most challenging due to his difficulties with the RB20 this season. After winning seven out of the opening 10 races, the Dutchman went 10 events without a victory as he struggled to compete at the front with the likes of McLaren and Ferrari.

But despite this drop in performance, Verstappen did what was required and secured consistent results to bridge enough of a gap to stay clear of his rivals. Journalist Ben Anderson says Fernando Alonso will be ‘particularly impressed’ by Verstappen’s fourth title as the Spaniard knows what it is like to fight for the championship in a less competitive car.

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix all but confirmed the Red Bull driver’s title as he drove a sensational race from P17 to win in the torrential rain, shattering Lando Norris’ chances of winning the championship as he sealed the deal in Las Vegas.

The Dutchman’s ability has been evident since his junior career, particularly in wet conditions. His father, Jos Verstappen, put him through some brutal training in his younger days, which ultimately led him to become a master in the rain.

This was made apparent to Red Bull during his European Formula 3 days, where on one particular weekend, Franz Tost was left thinking that Verstappen would be a ‘star for the future.’

Franz Tost says Max Verstappen’s rivals should have ‘handed in their racing licenses’ after he dominated the Norisring in 2014

Coming into the Norisring, Verstappen had just won all three races at Spa. But he would put himself on the path to F1 with his performance in Germany,

In the torrential wet conditions, many drivers remained in the garage while the Dutchman was out on the track, using his training from his father to get a feel for where the grip was.

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With Tost, Toto Wolff and Helmut Marko in attendance, they watched on as Verstappen blitzed away from the field and secured another hat trick of wins at the Norisring, subsequently becoming the first father in European F3 to win six races in a row.

This would ultimately lead to Red Bull fast-tracking him to F1, signing him to their junior team Toro Rosso in 2015. His then-future team principal, Tost, joked that his rivals should have ‘handed in their racing licenses’ after they could not get anywhere near Verstappen over the weekend.

He laughed as he told the Dutch edition of Motorsport.com: “I watched all the Formula 3 races, including the one at the Norisring. So I saw with my own eyes how Max drove a full second faster than everyone else in a lap of fifty-eight to fifty-nine seconds. Then you just have to say: Max is the champion, the other drivers should probably hand in their racing licenses.

“From that moment on, we knew for sure that Max would become a star of the future.”

Where does Max Verstappen rank among the greats in F1?

Verstappen is now only the sixth driver to win four world championships, equalling the titles won by Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel – the only other Red Bull driver to win a championship.

The Dutchman’s next target would be to match Juan Manuel Fangio’s five titles, with Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher having seven. But Verstappen says his eighth title is the ‘ultimate goal’ as he sets out to become the winningest F1 driver of all time.

The 2025 campaign will bring another challenge for the Dutchman as his rivals have made huge strides forward to overtake Red Bull in performance. McLaren, Ferrari, and sometimes even Mercedes have proven to have stronger packages in recent races.

Lando Norris has been Verstappen’s closest competitor this season and the two have come to blows on numerous occasions through the latter’s aggressive style of defending.

Lawrence Barretto says Norris may be the one to change how Verstappen drives as he will have learned a lot from 2024 and will be heading into next season looking to go one step further.