Son of Lauda on Verstappen victory: 'On a par with Lewis'

According to Mathias Lauda, son of former world champion Niki Lauda, Max Verstappen is a great asset to the sport. Despite the luck in the last race, he has more than earned the championship.

The Austrian believes Verstappen is great for Formula 1. "In the end the best has to win and Max had more points than Lewis", he is quoted as saying by Speedweek.com.

The rivals went into the final race in Abu Dhabi with the same number of points, but Verstappen missed out on many points throughout the season due to crashes. Lewis Hamilton dominated most of the race.

'Often you need luck'

"He was on par with Lewis, the duel was incredibly exciting", Lauda continues. The Dutchman was lucky due to the FIA 's decisions in the closing stages of the race, which allowed him to walk away with the win. Despite the luck, Lauda believes Verstappen more than deserved the championship.

"Max was extremely good and made no mistakes. Even though he was lucky in the last race, you often need luck."