Verstappen fought back tears in Abu Dhabi: 'Then it came in'
Red Bull Contentpool
F1 News
Max Verstappen seemed somewhat emotional on the podium after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As it turned out, that really was the case. Verstappen reveals in a Red Bull Racing video that he felt it was a special moment at the end of the season.
For Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, the 2023 F1 season was a special year. Both world titles were won, but especially the way in which they were won was special. 21 of the 22 Grands Prix were won by Red Bull Racing. Verstappen himself won 19 races and won his third world title in Qatar.
"After Abu Dhabi, I was very ill for a few days so that didn't really help. I have to apologise to my engineer because he sent me three emails [in the winter break] relating to next year and I didn't respond. I saw him today so I made up for it, you know our relationship! It's a bromance," Verstappen said.
Why Verstappen was emotional on the podium in Abu Dhabi
"I am looking forward to time off, but when I was standing on the podium, the achievements did hit me this year. It was sad to climb out of the RB19 at the time."
It was certainly a special year for Verstappen, who smashed all records in 2023. The Red Bull Racing driver had realised early in the season that it could be another good year, but of course nobody at all had seen it going so well.
"During testing in Bahrain, the car felt really nice but it's a specific track layout. The surface is also very aggressive. It doesn't always mean if you go well in Bahrain, that you'll have an incredible season. Then the races after that, we had a lot of different tracks. At one point you realise the championship is on and if nothing crazy happens reliability wise, we can have a great year but I never thought the car would win all races bar one," the Dutchman concluded.