At the FIA's annual prize presentation in Bologna on Friday night, Max Verstappen received his second Formula 1 global drivers' championship trophy.
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Verstappen receives the F1 trophy as the FIA recognises champions at the award ceremony. The largest trophies of the evening were accepted by Verstappen, F1 champion Charles Leclerc, second-place driver Sergio Perez, and Red Bull team owner Christian Horner, who won the F1 constructors’ title. Verstappen received the world championship trophy from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem at the conclusion of the award ceremony, which took place over a week of World Motor Sport Council and FIA General Assembly meetings. Verstappen stated in the FIA Champions press conference that his emotions for winning his second championship were “quite different” from those for winning his first title the previous year.
Verstappen stated, “Your entire life, you aspire for one specific objective, and that is to become a world champion, for me, in Formula 1.” “When you succeed, your first victory is always highly emotional. But things have been drastically different this year. “I do believe we were more competitive this year, and I believe the way our team was operating, we won the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. “As a team, we achieved a lot of triumphs. This one is, in my opinion, superior and more fulfilling. The first one, though, will always be more sentimental.
Stefano Domenicali, the CEO and president of Formula One, joined Ben Sulayem on stage to present a number of accolades throughout the evening, including the constructors’ trophy for Horner. Horner moved fast to devote his award speech to Red Bull’s founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who passed away at the end of October. Despite some disagreement regarding the points there, Horner remarked, “I know he was glad to see Max win the championship in Japan.”
But fortunately, Max won it quickly and he noticed it. The weekend after he passed away, we succeeded in winning this award. It’s a really unique one. The uncertainty Horner was referring to occurred at Suzuka, where full points were given despite barely covering slightly more than half of the whole distance due to an unanticipated result of changing the rules regarding abbreviated races in the wake of last year’s Spa fiasco. Verstappen learned he had won the title in parc ferme after Leclerc received a penalty following the race. The FIA has previously stated that it intends to revisit the law and try to close the gap.
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Ben Sulayem responded to Horner’s remarks by saying, “Christian, first and foremost, you deserve the victory, whether it belongs to the manufacturer or Max. Second, you mentioned Dietrich. In my most recent championship, I raced with Red Bull sponsorship. You mentioned that Japan was controversial (sic), but that is untrue. The FIA was held responsible for the points, but the teams, not the FIA, were responsible for creating the regulations, which we were enforcing. “OK guys, stay focused,” Domenicali intervened. The FIA is very, very apparent to me, so thank you very much, Ben Sulayem continued.
“[Horner] is correct; they and all other winners deserved the victory. What are the guidelines? Sincerely, congratulations, and here’s to many more victories. Other F1 winners that evening included Gordon Murray, who received the first-ever FIA President Innovation Medal for his contributions to race and road car design, and Lewis Hamilton, who won the FIA’s Action of the Year award for his double overtake on Leclerc and Perez in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The winners of the FIA world championships for Hypercar, GTE Pro, Formula E, WRC, Rally Raid, and WRX were also recognised, with many of them making dazzling stage entrances in their vehicles.
