Prost welcomes Verstappen to the four-title club

Without Max Verstappen, Red Bull "would not be a winning team" at the moment, Dr Helmut Marko admits.

He was speaking immediately after the triple world champion became a four-time consecutive title winner despite missing the podium in Las Vegas.

"I’ve had four beers and two gin and tonics," said Verstappen, 27, as his celebrations began in ’Sin City’. "Mainly I feel relief. The race wasn’t great, but actually it was better than I expected."

The Dutchman’s rival this year was Lando Norris, who failed in his mission to finish ahead of Verstappen on Saturday and therefore keep the title fight alive for Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Norris’ McLaren boss, Zak Brown, congratulated Verstappen while the Red Bull star was speaking to the broadcaster Sky. "Like you said before," a bold and cheeky Verstappen told the McLaren CEO, "I could only win it in the fastest car.

"It’s been a little different this year," Max grinned, addressing the American. Later, Brown insisted he had never meant his comments to "question Max’s qualities as a driver".

Verstappen later told reporters: "If people are critical and think I can only win in the best car, then I prove them wrong. If I don’t get credit for this now, then I don’t know what else I can do.

"Would I have become champion in the McLaren? Yes, and much earlier too," Max added. "In 2021 I also would have won the title in the other car."

Fernando Alonso, a two-time champion, was certainly not questioning Verstappen’s talent in Las Vegas. The Spaniard declared late on Saturday: "When (Sebastian) Vettel won his four titles, he had an incredible car and no competition.

"The best example of his (Verstappen’s) talent was Brazil," Alonso added, "where he was there on his own ability alone. I don’t think the car was made for that position."

Even Red Bull team advisor, and Verstappen’s mentor, 81-year-old Marko, agrees with that. "He covered up the car’s weaknesses with his driving skills and brilliance," he said.

Like Vettel and now Verstappen, the other four-time world champion in F1’s history is Alain Prost, who told Canal Plus on Saturday: "It’s a great pride to be joined by Max now at the same time as Sebastian - people and drivers that I appreciate.

"This year, the championship was very different for Max and he showed something a little different, and it reflects exactly what Max has become over the years," Prost added.

"When you see everything that has happened since the beginning of the year, on the sporting level and on the non-sporting level, the car that works quite well at the beginning and then, in an incomprehensible way, is no longer performing. If you don’t have a driver like Max in a team like this, it can really fall apart.

"He’s shown a lot of composure, a lot of calm, again on the track and off the track, and he’s become a more than complete driver, certainly one of the best in history. So I’m very proud to be joined in the very exclusive club of four titles."

Marko agrees: "I think for Max, the talent and the brains are on a par now. He was fast in the beginning and now he knows exactly how to use his head too.

"He is a perfect driver," the Austrian insisted. "This fourth world championship crown does not belong to Red Bull. It is solely due to Max Verstappen.

"In terms of driving, no driver has been able to hold a candle to him for years. He is an exceptional talent, the likes of which Formula 1 has rarely seen."