Max Verstappen blamed social media for making his relationship with Lando Norris sound worse than it really is after their title fight this season.

The pair have been good friends off the track since meeting in karting over a decade ago but went head-to-head in the Formula One drivers' championship for the first time in 2024.

The Dutchman claimed his fourth world title, clinching it with two races to spare after following up a stunning win in Sao Paulo by finishing ahead of Norris in Las Vegas.

However, there were moments of friction on the track, with the pair colliding in Austria in June before two controversial incidents in Austin and Mexico City in October.

In the end, Verstappen finished 63 points ahead of his title rival but insisted their friendship was not affected.

"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.

"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.

"You're fighting for the World Championship. I think it's normal that these kind of things can happen, but we're good."

The turning point for the 27-year-old came in Brazil, as he stormed from 17th to cross the line in first, ending a run of four months without a win.

However, a delayed qualifying session due to rain mixed with Lance Stroll's crash in the second qualifying session saw him fail to reach the final stage before being handed a five-grid penalty due to an engine change.

Verstappen rallied perfectly to clinch his first victory since Spain, ending a 10-race streak, and was helped by Norris' sixth-place finish.

"I was very upset with qualifying [in Brazil]. I wanted to destroy my room, but I walked into my room and my dad was sitting there," he said.

"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'."