Merit? Max was not making the calls, stewards/FIA did. He made most of the situation which opened up for him, which in this case was a one lap dash and he made it work.
Besides, I'm obviously talking about the season as a whole. That's why I quoted a stat of 18 top 2 finishes. Max deserves this, ending wasn't ideal, but that doesn't mean he didn't drive his ass off all year to get to this point. Folks are right to bring up Hamiltons' misfortune today, but at the same time, Verstappen had his in Baku, Silverstone and Hungary.