Max Verstappen was hailed as the GOAT (the greatest of all time) by many Formula 1 fans after securing his fourth World Drivers’ Championship on Saturday evening.
The 27-year-old finished fifth at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, but that was enough to put him 63 points ahead of Lando Norris in the overall standings, with just 60 points left to play for.
Norris finished sixth in Saturday’s race, which was won by George Russell ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Social media were full of praise for Verstappen on Saturday evening, although some fans were less complimentary about his Red Bull car.
“MAX VERSTAPPEN YOU ARE THE GOAT,” shouted a fan via X (formerly Twitter).
Another boldly declared: ‘Verstappen is now entrenching himself in the GOAT conversation.
Max Verstappen has now won the Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship four times in a row
The 27-year-old secured his latest title by finishing sixth at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday
Verstappen imagined himself celebrating with his Red Bull team after Saturday’s race in Nevada
“If you discredit what Max has done this year or his entire career, then you either have no wheel knowledge or you’re just a bitterly lonely human being who needs therapy.”
A third fan wrote: ‘Four in a row for Max Verstappen in a car that was third fastest for most of the season. How can you not say goat?’
Meanwhile, a fourth tweet read: ‘Max Emilian Verstappen wins his fourth title in a ***ty slow car with a DIY rear end in Las Vegas. My damn GOAT did that’.
Verstappen sent a message to his fans after the race.
“It’s great to see the fans supporting me everywhere,” he said.
‘Last year they were a bit spoiled with all the wins, so they had to wait a long time for it in the middle of the season.
“They are an incredible support and it’s great to see them here.
“What can I say to the team: we have been through a lot together and all these highlights that we are achieving together is just very special to do that, with the whole group of people we have on the track and back on the track. factory they always do everything they can to give me the car with which I can fight for the title.’
Asked about his future, Verstappen said: ‘Now if you look at next year, I think it will be a real battle between a lot of cars, but I am hungry.
‘I’m going to enjoy this and there are still two races I want to do well. We’ll take a break and try to go for it again next year.’
Despite fans’ claims that Verstappen is the GOAT, he is still three World Cup wins behind Michael Schumacher (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004) and Hamilton (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 , 2019 and 2019). 2020).
However, he is now one of only six drivers to have won F1’s biggest prize at least four times. Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel are also four-time champions, while Juan Manuel Fangio won five titles in the 1950s.