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Cape Town - With retirements blighting the first half of his season but recovering to claim two wins in the second part, Max Verstappen says 2017 has been a "character building" year.
The Dutchman's championship did not get off to the best of starts as he completed just five of the first 12 grands prix, hit with the bulk of Red Bull's Renault reliability issues.
Verstappen's frustration were evident as he parked his RB13 from points-scoring, or even podium, positions.
However, he fought back in the latter part of the season to head into the finale in Abu Dhabi with two wins on the board having triumphed in Malaysia and Mexico.
"I think it was a very valuable year," said Verstappen in during Exact Live, an event organized by one of his sponsors.
"It’s character building. You have to stay positive in the tougher moments and we’ve had plenty of them.”
Asked to rate his season, he replied: "Fairly positive with two wins, but in general this season was a missed opportunity.
"We failed to finish too often which has to be improved on for next year."
