Needing to cede fewer than three points to Lando Norris to wrap up the title in Vegas, Verstappen instead outscored his rival to seal his fourth crown.

It’s a result that comes after a strong start to the year in which he netted seven wins from the opening 10 races.

However, he then went winless from the Spanish Grand Prix in June until the Sprint at the United States Grand Prix in October.

That dry spell, coupled with an upturn in form from McLaren, opened the door for Norris to mount a championship challenge.

While always a long shot, the Brit remained in contention until an outstanding drive in wet conditions in Sao Paulo earlier this month moved the title almost out of reach.

A mature performance in Vegas saw Verstappen deliver what was needed, confirming himself Formula 1’s sixth four-time world champion.

“It’s been a long season,” said Verstappen, who secured the title at Round 22 of 24.

“We started off amazing, it was almost like cruising, but then we had a tough run.

“But as a team, we kept it together. We kept working on improvements.

“I mean, got to be proud of everyone, what they have done for me.

“To stand here as a four-time world champion is, of course, something that I never thought was possible.

“So yeah, at the moment, just feeling relieved in a way, but also very proud.”

Creating that sense of pride is the belief that Red Bull Racing did not have the fastest car for large parts of the season.

While he rates last year’s title more highly given his domination of the season, Verstappen was forced to dig far deeper in 2024.

“For most of the season, I would say for 70 percent of the season, we didn’t have the fastest car, but actually we still extended our lead,” he said.

“That is definitely something that I’m very proud of.

“Every championship has actually been very different in emotions,” he added of his four titles.

“It will never top the emotions of the first one, because that is what you set out to do, and that’s your ultimate dream and goal to win one, so that was massive.

“But then, the season has been very different to the second one, and last year’s one, and that’s, I think, very beautiful, because if they’re all fairly similar, that’s not as exciting.

“And honestly, when I cross the line, I was just very relieved. I was like, it’s over.

“It’s been a tough run of races, and I’m very happy that it rained in Brazil.”

While sealing the title was a clear high point, Verstappen admitted most of the standout moments from the season came in the opening rounds.

“Most of the highs, I think, were in the beginning of the season, where we were so competitive and winning races, and it seemed like a little bit of a repeat of last year in the beginning,” he recounted.

“And then the lows, I would say, I mean, lows, tough times are definitely the ones in the middle where we were struggling for pace, sometimes not making the podiums even.

“But we always maximised our results. We just kept it together in a way.

“When I look back at this season, probably in 20 years time, and I’m retired, Las Vegas ‘24 as a race is not going to be in my top 10.

“But still very special to win it here, and just looking back at that season that we had, but I’d say there were quite a few lows.

“In a way, they also taught me a lot about myself, the team, how we kept it together, and that’s what I’m also very proud of, how we handled it all and still came out on top.”

In winning his fourth title, Verstappen paid tribute to his nearest title rival.

Following a slow start to the year, Norris claimed his first F1 win in Miami, catapulting his title challenge. However, the head start he’d given the Dutchman proved too great.

“We have a lot of incredible young talent in the sport, and Lando is definitely one of them,” said the 27-year-old Verstappen.

“At times, he made it very difficult for me. We simply didn’t have an answer in many races where they were just clearly faster.

“That made it, of course, difficult, but yeah, to win a championship, you need to be consistent.

“Sometimes you try to over-perform. It doesn’t happen every weekend, but sometimes you can, and that’s what we did.

“But of course, McLaren at the moment they’re extremely strong. And Lando, I’ve known him for a long time already.

“To race a friend of yours to the title is always a little bit different, but I think we have a lot of respect for each other, and I’m sure that we’ll have many more battles to come.”