Max Verstappen reveals why the 2018 F1 season was the one where he learned the most

Max Verstappen is a four-time F1 champion and is already in the list of the F1 GOATs. However, it wasn't all about jumping into a top team, having the raw pace and delivering titles. The Dutchman improved over the first handful of seasons before challenging for the first title in 2021. The Red Bull star recently came out and explained why 2018 was the season in which he learnt the most.

The 2018 F1 season was Max Verstappen's third season with Red Bull Racing, and it was the year in which he challenged Daniel Ricciardo for the No.1 driver seat. However, the season did not get off to a smooth start with multiple incidents in the first few races.

Max Verstappen recently featured on the Red Bull Racing YouTube channel for the end-of-season review and was questioned about the season in which he learnt the most. The Dutchman suggested it was 2018 and explained the reason behind it, as he said,

“2018, the first 7-8 races. Just making some mistakes myself and then you get into a negative spiral, you try to push even harder and it all just didn’t work out and being really upset with myself. Then I had a turn around in montreal: I have to say from that day that’s really where it clicked.”

The Dutchman had a crash in Q1 at the second GP of the season in Bahrain, followed by a retirement in the race following a mechanical failure. This was followed by the Chinese GP., where the Dutchman crashed into Sebastian Vettel and was given a penalty for the same.The

Azerbaijan GP was a high point where Verstappen collided with teammate Daniel Ricciardo into Turn 1, putting an end to both their races. A crash in FP3 in Monaco prevented the Red Bull driver from participating in qualifying, arguably the most important session at the Monaco GP, as the grid position matters the most.

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“Fire sure, there were talks”: Max Verstappen opens up on the Mercedes rumours

Max Verstappen spoke with the BBC earlier in December and was questioned about the reports and rumours of him making a move to Mercedes in the future. The Dutchman detailed the reasons that could lead to him moving teams, while also confirming that there were indeed talks with the Silver Arrows.

“The change, if I would ever make one, it's not only because I need a faster F1 car or I need a difference in the environment. There's a lot of things that are around my F1 career and things that I'm doing outside of F1 that all have to come together.” “I'm not going to lie. For sure, there were talks. But at the same time, it was all very friendly and open. Nothing more than that,” he added

Red Bull has a troublesome RB21 going into the 2025 season, and then Christian Horner was sacked midway through the season. Since Laurent Mekies took over as the Team Principal, a new upgrade package improved the balance of the car, and Verstappen was once again challenging for the wins.

Edited by Pranay Bhagi