Champion's demeanor, but not your Red Bull
2024年对于维斯塔潘来说算不上是一个很顺心的赛季。
2024 was a challenging season for Verstappen.
比起去年和前年一个人开着最快的赛车安静的刷圈，今年他在中期面临的压力可是实打实的。面对着同队队友的疲软无力，媒体的长枪短炮，与FIA不鸣则已一鸣惊人的“杰出处罚”，他却依然拿出了作为世界冠军的冠军之姿、王者之态。
Compared to the previous two years, when he was driving the fastest car on the grid and effortlessly setting fastest laps, this year he faced significant pressure midway through the season. Despite his teammate's struggles, relentless media scrutiny, and the FIA's harsh penalty, Verstappen maintained the poise and regality of a world champion.
维斯塔潘四冠海报 | Max' 4 time world champion Posts
在这里，恭喜马克思·维斯塔潘加冕其第四冠，即2024赛季F1的车手世界冠军！这个冠军的含金量是毋庸置疑的，狠狠扇了那些质疑维斯塔潘自身实力的“黑子们”一巴掌。比起2021年的争议判罚、2022年与2023年将夺冠全部归功于红牛的“火星车”，今年维斯塔潘拿出来的成绩是闪耀且没有一点可黑的。
Let's congratulate Verstappen on securing his fourth World Championship in 2024! The value of this victory is unquestionable, and it serves as a sharp rebuttal to those who doubted Verstappen’s abilities. In contrast to the controversial decisions of the FIA in 2021 and the overwhelming dominance of Red Bull’s cars in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Verstappen’s performance this year was exceptional and without blemish.
如今的胜利光环之下，又有谁还记得红牛在九月份时的手足无措，面对迈凯伦后起之秀的赶超优势，宣布取消新加坡站及以后的所有特别涂装，理由是特别涂装的多余油漆会导致赛车每圈损失0.003秒。
In the midst of his victory, who still remembers Red Bull’s panic and confusion in September? Faced with McLaren's rising challenge, Red Bull announced they would cancel all special liveries from the Singapore Grand Prix onward, citing the fact that the excess paint added to the car's weight, costing three thousandths of a second every lap.
新加坡大奖赛发车阶段 | The starting in Singapore Grand Prix
既然RB20很显然已经不再是最快的那辆车，那么维斯塔潘是如何赢得这个世界冠军的？
With the RB20 clearly no longer the fastest car, how did Verstappen win the championship?
自从迈阿密站迈凯伦带来一系列升级后，红牛RB20的绝对速度不敌迈凯伦MCL38。然而，维斯塔潘在赛季初始便充分发挥优势，力争每一个积分。在巴林站的开幕战中，他夺得冠军并刷新了最快圈速；在沙特站再次登上最高领奖台；在日本铃鹿和中国上海，他分别在冲刺赛和正赛中都获得了冠军，收获了积分。尽管由于赛车液压系统故障，维斯塔潘在澳大利亚站被迫退赛未能得分，但这显然是车队的技术问题。
Since McLaren introduced a series of upgrades at the Miami Grand Prix, the absolute speed of the Red Bull RB20 has been outpaced by the McLaren MCL38. However, Verstappen made the most of his early-season advantage, fighting for every point. In the Bahrain Grand Prix, he won the race and set the fastest lap. He claimed the top podium again in Saudi Arabia, and in Japan (Suzuka) and China (Shanghai), he secured the most points in both the Sprint and the main race. Despite being forced to retire in Australia due to a hydraulic system failure, preventing him from scoring, this was clearly a technical issue with the car.
但这些肯定也不算是红牛的功劳，更多是维斯塔潘的个人能力。甚至红牛自己也承认，他们赛车的研发方向自从23赛季的墨西哥站开始就出现了错误，但是由于维斯塔潘过于强大掩盖了这一点，导致现在改进赛车变得很迟。
However, these achievements cannot be solely credited to Red Bull; they are more a result of Verstappen's personal ability. Even the Red Bull themselves admitted that their car development direction has been off since the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix. But Verstappen’s immense strength has masked this issue, making it difficult for the team to improve the car in time.
至少我们可以肯定一点，红牛已经不再是那个冠军之师了，今年WCC的归属对红牛而言也仅有理论上的可能了。
But one thing is clear: Red Bull is no longer the dominant team it once was. As for the Constructors' Championship, their chances this year were purely theoretical.
👆截至拉斯维加斯大奖赛的车队积分榜 | As of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the current standings in the Constructors' Championship
自从今年年初，克里斯蒂安·霍纳的“性丑闻”事件被曝光后，红牛内部的政治斗争似乎逐渐浮现在公众视野，与之相伴的便是体育总监乔纳森·惠特利宣布离开红牛，执掌奥迪；而艾德里安·纽维，传奇的F1气动大师，RB18与RB19的车辆总设计师，宣布离队并在不久后将加盟阿斯顿马丁；抑或是维斯塔潘签署的附加“马尔科条款”才被红牛高层所获悉——似乎红牛真的在走向分崩离析。
Since the "sexual scandal" involving Christian Horner broke earlier this year, internal political struggles within Red Bull have become increasingly visible. Jonathan Whitley, the team’s sporting director, left to join Audi, and Adrian Newey, the legendary F1 aerodynamicist behind the RB18 and RB19, announced he would be leaving to join Aston Martin. Perhaps the final straw was when Red Bull executives discovered the "Marko clause" Verstappen signed, which suggests that Red Bull might indeed be on the verge of disintegration.
艾德里安·纽维 | Adrian Newey at the Red Bull
红牛曾被视为不可撼动的巨人：极具天赋的赛车手，速度快到独一档的赛车，恰到好处的进站与换胎策略，几乎没见过跌出2.8秒的进站换胎，一同奠定了红牛在前两个赛季拿下的双料冠军。
Red Bull was once an unshakable giant—driven by a supremely talented driver, a car with unmatched speed, a flawless pit stop strategy, and pit stops that were always under 2.8 seconds, all of which were key factors in their dual championships in the first two seasons.
然而今年则不尽于此了，奥地利站红牛给维斯塔潘的6.5秒进站时间直接导致了诺里斯快速追上并发生双车碰撞事故。
This year, however, things have changed. The 6.5-second pit stop during the Austrian Grand Prix allowed Norris to rapidly close the gap, ultimately resulting in a collision.
陌生的6.5秒换胎 | The 6.5-second pit stop by Red Bull during the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix
而在匈牙利站的41圈时，维斯塔潘自己都在Team Radio中吐槽，策略组居然眼睁睁看着自己被undercut。
In the 41st lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen voiced his frustration on the team radio—he was baffled as he watched his strategy group helplessly allow him to be undercut.
维斯塔潘在TR里关于车队策略的抱怨 | Max expressed his discontent about the team's decisions during the Hungarian Grand Prix
红牛车队不可撼动的神话随着内部问题的浮现而被打破，但维斯塔潘却是一个人撑着一整支车队向前苦苦推进。
The myth of Red Bull’s invincibility has been shattered, yet Verstappen has continued to carry the team on his shoulders with relentless effort.
前两年RB18与RB19的独领风骚似乎让人们忘记了维斯塔潘“塔炮”绰号的由来，那个在童话故事中总是饰演“坏人”的角色——对应到围场里——就是以强硬防守与超车闻名的维斯塔潘。而今年由于迈凯伦与法拉利车辆性能的提升，诺里斯积分也在逐渐逼近，那个大坏人维斯塔潘似乎又回来了。
The dominance of the RB18 and RB19 over the past two years made many forget the origin of Verstappen's "Mad Max" nickname. Known as the “villain” of F1, he built this reputation through aggressive defense and daring overtakes. With McLaren and Ferrari improving their cars this season and Norris steadily closing in on Verstappen’s points, the "villain" is back.
维斯塔潘与诺里斯的攻防瞬间 | Battle between Max and Lando
在今年的奥地利和墨西哥站，维斯塔潘为守住位置对诺里斯做出了“自杀式”防守， 展现出强大的决心。通过这些比赛，我们看到维斯塔潘不仅清楚了解自己赛车的极限，也深知赛车规则的底线。
This year’s Austrian and Mexican Grands Prix showcased Verstappen's fierce defensive maneuvers against Norris. It was clear that Verstappen understands not just his car’s limits, but also the limits of racing rules.
他对于赛会干事20秒的处罚毫不意外，虽惊叹于罚时之长，但他早有心理预期，他宁可以不可能入弯的速度将正在和他缠斗的诺里斯逼出赛道，接受罚时，也不允许诺里斯轻易在赛道上超过他以获得更好的位置和更多的积分，在赛车明显更慢的情况下，尽可能的及时止损，减慢诺里斯在积分榜上追赶的脚步。
When Verstappen received a 20-second penalty from race control, he wasn’t surprised. While the penalty’s duration was shocking, he had anticipated it. Verstappen willingly risked pushing Norris off track with an overly aggressive entry speed during their battle. He accepted the penalty, choosing not to let Norris overtake and gain a better position or more points. Even with a slower car, Verstappen did everything he could to minimize the damage and slow Norris’s climb in the standings.
墨西哥大奖赛上维斯塔潘的20秒罚时 | Max Verstappen's 20-second penalty at the Mexican Grand Prix
更不用说在巴西站，维斯塔潘在雨站中的出色表现，十七位发车并最终获得冠军，更是杀死了别人对其能力的一切质疑。
Not to mention his brilliant performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where Verstappen started from 17th on the grid and won the race in wet conditions. This victory silenced any remaining doubts about his abilities.
其实，我依然对红牛赛车明年的竞争力存有担忧， 但我对维斯塔潘的个人表现毫不怀疑——看看他与队友在同一辆RB20中的差距吧，这个差距甚至比今年的周冠宇和博塔斯还要大。
I’m still concerned about Red Bull’s competitiveness next year, but I have no doubts about Verstappen’s personal performance. Just look at the comparison between him and his teammate in the same RB20—the gap is even wider than the one between Zhou and Bottas this year.
图片来源：F1，SkySports，PlanetF1，GettyImages