Emerson Fittipaldi takes Max Verstappen’s side.

Emerson Fittipaldi’s words.

Emerson Fittipaldi has no doubts: “Max Verstappen’s headlines clouded by the facts of Abu Dhabi and the budget cap? No. Absolutely. They have nothing to do with him.”

“In my opinion, he deserved it last year and he deserved it this year,” the Brazilian added to VegasInsider. “He won the most races in the last championship and this year he has been fantastic on his way to the title. What happened in Abu Dhabi had nothing to do with Max’s talent. He deserved to be world champion. And this year is exactly the same. Max showed his strength, his talent and showed that he doesn’t fold under pressure. When you start a new year as the reigning world champion, there is a lot of pressure. And he handled it very well.”

It was Sebastian Vettel who was the first driver to win a world championship with Red Bull. The German put everyone in line for four years in a row, from 2010 to 2013. The Austrian stable returned to success in 2021 thanks to Dutchman Max Verstappen, with the son of art repeating the following year. If there was a battle to the last in 2021, that was not the case in 2022.