Max Verstappen has won the Formula 1 World Championship for the third time in a row. The 26-year-old secured the title in his Red Bull on Saturday during the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix when his teammate Sergio Pérez was eliminated on the eleventh lap. The Mexican was the only pursuer who could have caught up with Verstappen, at least mathematically.
Verstappen’s placement in the sprint race didn’t matter. Although there are still six Grand Prix to complete before the end of the season, he can no longer be pushed out of first place in the overall standings. After the triumphs in 2021 and 2022, the 26-year-old Dutchman becomes the new series world champion.
Verstappen is the eleventh driver with at least three titles in the premier motorsport class. Only four other racing drivers won three World Cup trophies in a row before him: Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Juan Manuel Fangio. Hamilton and Schumacher are also the record world champions with seven titles each. Will Verstappen make it there one day? “We see what happens year after year,” said Verstappen, who says he doesn’t concern himself with such records.
Given the oppressive superiority in Red Bull and the next major rule reform, there is currently no end to his series of titles in sight. Even though the World Championship has now been decided, the dominator would like to continue winning in the remaining six Grand Prix. “I’m very proud to have achieved these things. And I still want to achieve more,” said Verstappen before getting into the car in Qatar: “All of this is something that I would never have thought possible as a little child.”
There won’t be a big party on Saturday evening, Verstappen has to get back in the car on Sunday (7 p.m./Sky) and is aiming for his 14th victory of the season in the main race on the Arabian Gulf from first place on the grid. His personal best comes from the previous season, in which he triumphed 15 times.
He could now significantly exceed this value by the end of the season in Abu Dhabi at the end of November. Red Bull had already successfully defended its title of constructors’ world champion two weeks ago in Japan.
In the fourth sprint of the year, Verstappen didn’t get off to a good start and lost two places. As he was in the middle of his catch-up, Pérez went off the track and got stuck in the gravel. He had collided with the French Esteban Ocon in the Alpine and the German Nico Hülkenberg in the Haas.
