Max was having his doubts

JOINS ELITE GROUP OF FIVE DRIVERS TO BECOME A FOUR-TIME F1 WORLD CHAMPION

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Max Verstappen admitted he "never thought" he would win four world titles after wrapping up the 2024 Formula One championship under the Las Vegas lights.

Verstappen's success ushered him into an elite club alongside Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Alain Prost as a four-time champion.

Seven wins in the opening 10 races launched Verstappen to this success, but he needed to overcome a mid-season run of 10 races without a win before victory in a rain-hit race in Brazil set up his fourth title.

"At 17, I was just happy to be there and dreaming of potential victories and standing on the podium, just normal things that are already very difficult to achieve," said the 27-year-old Dutchman whose fifth-place race finish in Las Vegas was enough to guarantee the title.