Max Verstappen left no margin for doubt. Focused and precise as ever, the Red Bull driver seized the opening chance to seal the 2023 Formula 1 world championship during the sprint race in Qatar. At 26, the Dutch driver is already carving his name among the sport’s legends, joining a select circle of three-time champions alongside Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna, and his so-called mentor Nelson Piquet.
Max Verstappen, three-time Formula 1 champion: from prodigy to lethal edge
Verstappen needed only three points in the sprint to clinch his third consecutive title. He began the race in third after triumphs in 2021 and 2022 and played it safe at the start, dropping two positions before settling in fifth. Checo Pérez, runner-up in the championship and the only driver on track capable of delaying Max’s run, fell back to eleventh, easing Verstappen’s path toward the crown.
In the middle of the pack, Oscar Piastri surged to the lead after a commanding sprint, and he held the advantage into the first laps of the race. Lando Norris, who had started strong, ceded second place to Russell and Sainz right away and eventually finished sixth. Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, capitalized on the opening moves to climb two spots at the outset.
Pit stops and early safety cars disrupted the order as Lawson and Sargeant left the track, pinning the field for several laps. When racing resumed, Sainz launched a bold attack on Piastri, moving into second after surrendering the lead to the rising star. The Australian rookie fought back, keeping Mercedes in sight and pressing the pace with relentless tenacity.
Alonso and his former teammate Ocon dueled intensely, but Verstappen used the DRS—an enduring weapon in the RB19’s arsenal—to slip past Leclerc like a speeding missile and then pressure Sainz’s Ferrari, tightening the championship chase.
Czech crash
Verstappen held third place as the field jostled for position. Just sixth would have sufficed to guarantee the title, but the drama intensified when Checo Pérez collided with Hülkenberg and Ocon, forcing them out and introducing a third safety car at Losail. The chaos kept Verstappen on the cusp of glory, awaiting the final moments of the race and the championship leader’s finish line crossing.
Piastri briefly retook the lead, with Sainz, Norris, and Russell in pursuit. In a tense finale, Verstappen demonstrated his ambition by moving ahead of Russell to win the sprint, signaling that the championship would be decided with authority. The race became a showcase of the driver’s determination to crown a historic title in a decisive fashion.
In the final trio of laps, Norris staged a remarkable comeback, overtaking both Ferraris on the outside and rising to fourth as Russell clinched a podium. Verstappen pressed relentlessly on Piastri, but there was no turning back. Piastri crossed the line first, but Verstappen secured the overall World Championship in front of a global audience, while Norris completed a historic podium. Sainz finished sixth and Alonso ninth, unable to claim a prize in a night charged with energy and strategic drama.