Max Verstappen has revealed that he had serious concerns about lasting the distance in the 2021 season finale at Abu Dhabi that ultimately decided the outcome of the world championship.
The race has been dominated by Lewis Hamilton, but a late crash and safety car led gave the Red Bull driver one last chance to catch and pass the Mercedes at the restart, and to claim the championship.
“What was going on in my head?” Verstappen told the UK's Guardian newspaper in an exclusive interview this week. "I was like, ‘I need to overtake him. There’s only one option here. I’m not going to finish second.’”
But as the race resumed with a single lap to go until the chequered flag, Verstappen found himself in crippling pain.
“I tried to be really on it with the restart," he recalled. "It was all working well until I crossed the line and started to feel cramp in my leg.
"It’s one of the most painful things that can happen because you’re going full throttle for a long time. You feel the muscle clenching and becoming like a tennis ball.
"Of course the adrenaline helps," he continued. "If it were to happen when you’re just walking around, you cannot move. It’s impossible. But there was no option; I had to.
"I was just keeping it full throttle and I could feel my leg hurting more and more. Luckily, turn five arrived and I went for the move [on Hamilton to take the lead].
"I had like three seconds off throttle," he said. “You then have two very long straights and, on the second one where Lewis came back at me, I could feel my foot vibrating. I couldn’t control it because the muscle was having a spasm.
"My foot on the last sector was like this," he added, making a juddering motion with his hand to illustrate the problem. "If you go back over the data you will not see a very smooth throttle input. I was screaming on the radio.
"The whole lap my foot was going like that," he admitted. “It was completely done. One more lap and I couldn’t have finished the race like that."
None of that mattered in the euphoria that followed the finish when it began to sink in that he had achieved his dream of becoming world champion.
"It’s what we had worked for my whole life. It was always my dream. Once you cross the line you realise you finally have it. I jumped out of the car and all the mechanics and my dad were running towards me."
Some have speculated that Verstappen's victory might have been tarnished in some way by the controversial circumstances surrounding that late restart, but the driver himself has no such doubts.
Not at all. I had a very good season and I think I really deserved it," he said. "I have been really unlucky as well.
"People always remember the last race but, if you look at the whole season, the championship should have been decided way earlier.”
It was certainly one of the most intense that the FIA world championship has ever seen, and Verstappen admitted that the pressure had taken its toll over the season.
“You can’t have that drama every single year, for sure. It’s not good for me, it’s not healthy for anyone in the team, both teams!"
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