However, during the event the reigning world champion was picked on by comedian-turned-presenter Jack Whitehall over his argument with Mercedes driver George Russell towards the end of last season.
The Dutchman and Russell had heated run-in following the Qatar Grand Prix in December last year after Verstappen allegedly said he would deliberately crash into the Brit.
“You need to use a bit of common sense and, besides that, I prefer we actually focus on other topics — to try to improve safety, try to improve the overall performance of F1 cars — instead of actually having to focus on all these kind of things.
But the argument boiled over at the season finale in Abu Dhabi as the 27-year-old branded the four-time world champ a “bully” — while Verstappen hit back by labelling Russell a “backstabber” and “loser”.
Verstappen and his fellow Formula One drivers were all in attendance at the O2 Arena to celebrate the sport's 75th anniversary as teams revealed their car liveries ahead of the new season.
