George Russell explained that Max Verstappen “arguably shouldn’t have won the championship this year”, claiming that errors from others helped him over the line in F1 2024.

He clarified that the Red Bull driver is “exceptional”, but explained that there has been only so much he could get out of his RB20 while it was underperforming relative to rivals.

George Russell: ‘Max Verstappen shouldn’t have won the championship’

While Verstappen had a flying start to the season, he went through a difficult period by his standards in which he went 10 races without a win, with the remit instead being to maximise his results to maintain his lead in the World Championship.

The Red Bull driver eventually took the title in Las Vegas in November, but Russell explained he feels up to the challenge of taking on the reigning champion if the opportunity arises next season.

“I’ve been in F1 six years now, next year is my seventh, and my fourth year with the team,” Russell told the Times.

“I feel absolutely ready to take my journey to the next level and I feel ready to fight for a championship. I feel ready to fight against Max [Verstappen] and if we get the opportunity, I’m not going to waste it.

But given there were opportunities for others to succeed in F1 2024, Russell explained it was ultimately Verstappen’s consistency that won the season standings, with others not making the most of the opportunities they had through the season.

“Arguably, Max shouldn’t have won the championship this year, but the others made a few more errors and didn’t capitalise when they had the chance,” he said. “I feel that we have [won what we could].

“Opportunities don’t come around every single day. This year was Lando’s chance. They [McLaren] might be there again next year. They may not. We just don’t know in this sport; nobody would have predicted Red Bull to fall off form in the manner that they have.

“There’s so much hype around Max. He’s such an exceptional driver, but the fact is, he’s won one race in the last 12 [at time of publication, ed.] and, it just goes to show everyone is beatable because you are at the mercy of your race car.

“The difference with him this year is he’s won every occasion that he’s had the chance, and his rivals haven’t.”