Max Verstappen has sealed his third F1 world championship in a row in Qatar, fighting back to finish second in the sprint race - won by the sensational Oscar Piastri - after a slow start behind an all-McLaren front row.
He actually won the championship mid-way through as teammate Sergio Perez was sent spinning into the gravel in a three-way collision with Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Haas's Nico Hulkenberg, meaning the Mexican could no longer catch Verstappen in the standings.
The Dutch driver draws level with Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda and Sirs Jackie Stewart and Jack Brabham on three world titles, and at 26 he’s second only to Sebastian Vettel as the youngest ever three-time champion.
It’s no less than Verstappen deserves: the Red Bull driver has dominated the season, winning every race bar three (and finishing second in two of those) so far and at one stage taking the chequered flag 10 times on the bounce, something that had never before been achieved in 73 years of F1 history.
Though many will point to the RB19 - which looks likely to go down as Adrian Newey’s finest creation - to explain Verstappen’s easy route to the title this year, you need only look at what Sergio Perez has achieved in the same machinery to appreciate his performance.
The Mexican is a fine grand prix driver and yet he has been blown away by his teammate’s relentless speed and consistency. That Perez ever allowed himself to talk about challenging for the championship - when the pair were on two wins apiece following the Azerbaijan GP - now looks less like self-belief and more like giving the producers of Drive to Survive something to work with for Season 6.
And with the inevitable set to happen this weekend, Lewis Hamilton praised Verstappen for the “exceptional job” he’d done this season, adding that he and Red Bull had “raised the bar”. Likewise fellow world champ Alonso added his “big respect” for Verstappen’s achievements, and Perez himself conceded he’d been “chasing” in vain ever since the Spanish GP.
"Unbelievable guys," said Verstappen on the team radio. "I don't know what to say. Incredible year. Thank you for providing me with such a car. It's been a pleasure so far this year and I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone here at the track, back at the factory, putting all the effort in to be able to achieve something like this. I can't thank you all enough.
"And besides all the performance-related stuff, it's also just really enjoyable to work with you all. That's probably the most important [thing] at the end. So thank you very much."
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