Verstappen feared the worst: "I saw I wasn't approaching Lewis fast enough"

Shortly after the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, all hope for the world championship seemed lost to Max Verstappen. A miracle was needed to create a last chance for the Dutchman. That miracle came: after the late crash of Nicholas Latifi there was one lap left. Verstappen himself realises that luck was on his side this time.

Verstappen acknowledges adverse position at Abu Dhabi

Nonetheless, he believes the championship was won on the track, reporting in conversation with the likes of GPblog. "I saw that I was not catching [Hamilton] fast enough, but told myself to keep pushing until the end and not give up," says the 24-year-old Dutchman.

He does realise, however, that it took more than that to win the championship. "We needed a miracle and it did happen," he says. "But you still need to then capitalise on that and go for the overtake, and that’s what we did. It was a dramatic end for sure."

By staying on top throughout the race, Red Bull Racing suddenly found itself in an attacking position in the closing stages of the race, where it initially seemed impossible.