This study reports the Mott transition in vanadium dioxide (VO₂) using infrared spectroscopy and nano-imaging. The Mott transition is characterized by a divergent quasiparticle mass in metallic puddles that appear at the onset of the insulator-to-metal transition. Scanning near-field infrared microscopy (s-SNIM) allows direct imaging of these nano-scale metallic puddles, revealing coexisting insulating and metallic phases in VO₂ over a finite temperature range. The results show that the metallic puddles exhibit a narrow Drude-like peak at low frequencies and a mid-infrared band, indicating collective electronic effects. The real part of the conductivity spectrum of these puddles shows a significant enhancement of the effective mass, a signature of electronic correlations. The analysis of far-field infrared spectra using effective medium theory (EMT) reveals that the optical constants of the metallic puddles differ from those of the high-temperature rutile metal. The study also highlights the percolative nature of the insulator-to-metal transition in VO₂, where metallic regions nucleate, grow, and connect as temperature increases. The Mott transition in VO₂ is shown to occur from the monoclinic insulator to an incipient strongly correlated metal, with the emergence of a pseudogap and mid-infrared band due to optically-induced electronic excitations. The results suggest that the insulator-to-metal transition in VO₂ is driven by electronic correlations and charge ordering, and that the observed properties are consistent with Mott physics. The study also discusses the implications of these findings for understanding the electronic properties of correlated electron systems, including high-temperature superconductors and other materials with complex electronic behavior.This study reports the Mott transition in vanadium dioxide (VO₂) using infrared spectroscopy and nano-imaging. The Mott transition is characterized by a divergent quasiparticle mass in metallic puddles that appear at the onset of the insulator-to-metal transition. Scanning near-field infrared microscopy (s-SNIM) allows direct imaging of these nano-scale metallic puddles, revealing coexisting insulating and metallic phases in VO₂ over a finite temperature range. The results show that the metallic puddles exhibit a narrow Drude-like peak at low frequencies and a mid-infrared band, indicating collective electronic effects. The real part of the conductivity spectrum of these puddles shows a significant enhancement of the effective mass, a signature of electronic correlations. The analysis of far-field infrared spectra using effective medium theory (EMT) reveals that the optical constants of the metallic puddles differ from those of the high-temperature rutile metal. The study also highlights the percolative nature of the insulator-to-metal transition in VO₂, where metallic regions nucleate, grow, and connect as temperature increases. The Mott transition in VO₂ is shown to occur from the monoclinic insulator to an incipient strongly correlated metal, with the emergence of a pseudogap and mid-infrared band due to optically-induced electronic excitations. The results suggest that the insulator-to-metal transition in VO₂ is driven by electronic correlations and charge ordering, and that the observed properties are consistent with Mott physics. The study also discusses the implications of these findings for understanding the electronic properties of correlated electron systems, including high-temperature superconductors and other materials with complex electronic behavior.