Buxton looks back: 'I had never spoken to Verstappen so freely and honestly'

Max Verstappen had his second Formula 1 world title early this year, but it was a different story in 2021. The title battle between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton was decided so late that Will Buxton had two sets of questions ready for whoever became champion.

The presenter on Formula1.com looked back on the thrilling finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. "I had two sets of questions, one for Lewis Hamilton and one for Max. None of us knew who would walk up the steps as World Champion," Buxton reflected. "Eventually he came, Red Bull cap pulled in place, no bounding triumphalism, a polite shake of hands and with some trepidation, I began."

Burden fell off Verstappen's shoulders

He continued: "Max wasn’t always the easiest of interviews. His answers could be short, pointed and unemotional." As the season was increasingly marked by controversial highs and lows, according to Buxton, Verstappen pulled his walls up higher and higher. At his post-race interview, however, everything seemed to fall off the brand-new World Champion.

"From the first answer he gave, the walls collapsed, as though a lifetime’s pressure had suddenly lifted. I couldn’t recall a time I’d spoken to him so freely and honestly on camera since his Grand Prix debut six years and nine months earlier," Buxton said.