Three Reasons Why Verstappen Is Primed To Win His Fourth World Championship In 2024

Sunday, 14 January 2024 at 09:00

Max Verstappen has won three World Drivers' Championships in his career already, and in 2024, he will be shooting for his fourth.

When the Dutch driver entered the sport in 2015, and won his first F1 race in 2016 as an 18-year-old, many predicted that he would certainly win at least one World Drivers' Championship in his career and in 2021, that became true.

Three years later, Verstappen is entering the 2024 season with already three titles to his name, and obviously, as the top favorite to win also in 2024. While it's not clear whether he'll win again, there are three main reasons why he should be able to do it.

3. Red Bull Car

While the Dutchman's 2021 victory was a hard-fought one, and Red Bull didn't even win the World Constructors' Championship in that season, in the past two seasons, the Austrian team has been ahead of the competition.

That applies to 2022, but especially to 2023, when Red Bull just dominated their competition, winning 21 of the season's 22 races. Thanks to their dominance, the team was able to turn focus onto the 2024 car earlier than their competitors.

Some rumors even suggest that the team has already switched focus to their 2025 car, but that may be a bit far-fetched. However, one thing is clear: Red Bull got a head-start in the development race for the 2024 season, and that will help Verstappen in his title chase.

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2. Confidence And Calmness

In every professional sport, one of the most crucial factors is confidence. It's often said that the athletes at the top of any sport are very close to each other in terms of their skill level, but what often decides is the mentality and confidence on a given day.

That's why Verstappen's confidence is another reason why he'll likely succeed in 2024. The 26-year-old broke an incredible amount of records in 2023, as no driver ever managed to win more than 13 races in one season, but the Red Bull driver won 19 times, beating his previous record of 15 wins.

On top of that, he won 10 consecutive races, something that has also never been done before, and his confidence going into the 2024 season will be through the roof. That's also palpable on his driving style, as it's far from the young Verstappen that was infamously known for crashing a lot.

The Dutch driver now knows that he's ahead of the competition, and he picks his spots and doesn't rush for dangerous moves. That calmness on the track is something that young Verstappen lacked, but with it, he's even more dangerous than ever before.

1. Fear Factor

One of the most important qualities that Verstappen has in his repertoire is that he knows every trick in the book and has an incredible ability to adapt. He can be calm and wait for his moment, but when needed, he can turn into the most aggressive driver on the track.

The Dutchman didn't forget that he can be one of the most aggressive drivers on the race track, and even his biggest rival, Lewis Hamilton, once admitted that he drives differently against Verstappen than against other drivers.

The three-time World Champion just doesn't leave any extra space on the race track, and creating high-risk and high-pressure situation is something that creates a fear factor among his closest competitors.

When driving wheel-to-wheel against Verstappen, drivers know that they won't be afforded any extra space, and can easily get into situation where they could possibly risk eliminating themselves from the race because of a damage sustained to their car.

That creates another layer of respect towards racing the Dutchman, and another advantage for him when chasing his fourth World Championship during the 2024 season.