F1 Grand Prix of Brazil - Sprint & Qualifying - Source: Getty
Max Verstappen feels McLaren was not better prepared to fight for the Drivers Championship and it showed with how it implemented 'Papaya rules' during the season. 2024 would go down as one of the seasons where the driver who won the championship arguably didn't have the fastest car for the majority of the season.
For Verstappen, the 2024 F1 season started on a positive note, the driver was fast and the Red Bull underneath was the best car on the grid. Until the race in Miami, the Dutch driver had won all but one race in the season and shown very impressive consistency once again.
Things did change from Miami onwards as Red Bull regressed while the competition surged. This led to Lando Norris becoming one of the contenders for the title but McLaren was still quite inexperienced when it came to battling for the drivers title. The team introduced 'Papaya Rules' in the Italian GP but it blew up even in that race, as Oscar Piastri jumped Norris on the first lap.
