Max Verstappen says "idiots" on social media made his relationship with Lando Norris over the 2024 F1 season sound worse than reality.
Verstappen and Norris have been good friends off the track since they met in karting over a decade again but experienced their first title fight in F1 this year.
The pair clashed in Austria in June before controversial incidents in Austin and Mexico City in October when Verstappen came under increasing pressure to hold onto his championship advantage.
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Verstappen went on to seal a fourth consecutive title after a stunning win in Sao Paulo, before he finished ahead of Norris at the Las Vegas GP where he was crowned champion.
"People always make it really a lot worse on social media. There are a lot of idiots on that platform that always have something to say, something to complain about," Verstappen said on Red Bull's podcast Talking Bull.
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"There are a lot of positive people, but also some proper idiots. I think it's better just to ignore all of that.
"Lando and I, we got on very well. Of course, at times it got a bit tense on track but off the track, that shouldn't matter. We always try to do the best we can on track to get the best possible result.
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"You're fighting for the World Championship. I think it's normal that these kind of things can happen, but we're good."
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Verstappen reveals he nearly 'destroyed' room ahead of Sao Paulo GP
The day which defined the title race run-in was the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Verstappen stormed through the field from 17th to claim his first victory in over four months, while pole-sitter Norris finished sixth.
Heavy rain meant Qualifying took place on Sunday morning, prior to the race, and Lance Stroll's crash at the end of Q2 led to Verstappen not reaching Q3 due to the unfortunate timing of the yellow and red flags, and his five-place grid penalty for a new engine put him down to the penultimate row of the grid.
"I was very upset with Qualifying. I wanted to destroy my room but I walked into my room and my dad was sitting there," he said.
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"He was the calm one, very calm. I was so angry then I saw him so calm, that it actually calmed me down. I just walked in... when I think back about the day, I could really feel us in the office, when we were preparing for the race there were a lot of sad faces because you're starting P17, your main rival is starting first, so it could be a massive points swing and we couldn't really have that at that point of the championship.
"Everyone was quite nervous but then it rained. It was a wet day. I jumped in the car. I like to drive in the wet but you never know what will happen because at the same time you might be taken out, or you spin off the track yourself, because it's very difficult.
"But then as soon as the race went under way, it was good, it was nice. I enjoyed it a lot. I felt good with the car. Step by step, driving to the front again. It was relief on the podium. As soon as I won that race I was like 'that's it'."
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Verstappen compares Brazil 2024 to Abu Dhabi 2021
Verstappen, who will do some skiing and sim racing over F1's winter break, will have the opportunity next season to join Michael Schumacher on a record five consecutive titles.
His first championship was the most controversial due to race director Michael Masi restarting the season-ending 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with one lap to go, only letting the backmarkers in between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton through.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap of the season to come out on top in an already contentious season and compared this year's race in Brazil to Abu Dhabi 2021.
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"I wouldn't want to relive Brazil because it was so emotionally draining that day that I cannot do that again. It's the same as reliving my first title that day. I think that day I would die," said the four-time world champion.
"People that saw me that day, especially my girlfriend Kelly [Piquet]. She came into my room before the race and normally I'm not really that nervous. You're just well prepared, and there might be some nerves that you want to do well.
"But she said my hands were ice cold. You really don't want to relive these kind of moments. They're amazing to look at, but not to relive."
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