LOSAIL, Qatar — Max Verstappen believes his third Formula One title is his best yet.
Clinching the 2023 season championship in a sprint race Saturday in Qatar didn’t pack the emotional impact of Verstappen’s dramatic, controversial last-lap overtake of Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 crown.
Still, the Red Bull driver thinks his relentlessly consistent 2023 season has been his greatest so far.
“This one is the best one,” said the Dutch star, who clinched a week after turning 26 years old. “I think the first one was the most emotional one because that’s when your dreams are fulfilled in F1. But this one definitely in my opinion has been my best year also for consecutive wins and stuff. The car itself has been probably in the best shape as well. This one is probably (the title) I’m most proud of in a way because of consistency.”
Verstappen finished second in the sprint race, which was held a day before the Qatar Grand Prix, while his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, the only driver who could catch him in the standings, crashed out after being struck by Esteban Ocon’s Alpine.
Oscar Piastri won the sprint — a rare achievement for a rookie, even if Verstappen’s title overshadowed it — and fellow McLaren driver Lando Norris was third.
The race for the 2023 title was all but over long before Verstappen made sure of it Saturday. His run of 10 straight wins, an all-time F1 record, from May to September left him far ahead in the standings. A third title ranks him among some of the sport’s all-time greats, drawing him level with the likes of Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna.
“I achieved more than I could have ever even dreamed of or any goals that I wanted to achieve in F1,” Verstappen said. “So I’m loving the moment. We’ll see where we end up. It’s already way more than I ever thought I could achieve, so it’s perfect.”
Verstappen parked in pit lane and stood atop his car with three fingers raised on his right hand before going to celebrate with his team. After Sunday’s competition, there are still five GP events left this season — and no reason to think Verstappen won’t be the driver to beat in those as well.
For the new three-time champion, the question after getting out of the car Saturday was how to balance celebrations with the reality of having to race again Sunday, when he will start in pole position.
“I guess quite a few sparkling waters tonight,” Verstappen said with a smile after being asked how he would mark the occasion. “But I’ll be here tomorrow.”
Verstappen started third in Saturday’s sprint race but was slow off the line and was down to fifth after the first lap before fighting his way back through the field.
Perez was in a three-way battle with Ocon and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg midway through the sprint when Ocon clipped Hulkenberg’s wheel and spun into Perez on the outside of the corner. Both Ocon’s and Perez’s cars were left stuck in the gravel.
F1 organized a light show in the pits to mark Verstappen’s title, but because it was a sprint race and not a full Grand Prix, there was no podium ceremony. Instead, Verstappen, Piastri and Norris were awarded plaques for placing in the top three.
Saturday’s result had immediate clarity, something that was missing from the aftermath of the thrilling and much-disputed battle in 2021 with Mercedes star Hamilton — whose seven titles are tied for the series record with Michael Schumacher — which ended with Verstappen winning his first title at the regular-season finale in Abu Dhabi. And when Verstappen took the title at the Japanese GP last year, it was amid confusion over how many points he should get after a red flag.
Both the venue in Qatar and the format are modern additions to F1. The Losail circuit and the sprint events, which Verstappen has opposed in the past, were both added to the calendar in 2021.
Perez seemed capable of challenging Verstappen when he won two of the first four GP races of this season, but the 33-year-old from Mexico hasn’t won since the Azerbaijan GP in April. Perez has been let down by frequent mistakes in qualifying as eight times in 17 championship rounds he has failed to reach the final qualifying session that decides the top 10 places on the starting grid, leaving him at a major disadvantage on race day.
Piastri followed up his first GP podium finish in Japan two weeks ago with his first F1 victory, even if the sprint doesn’t count as an official GP win.
“It’s a bit of a weird feeling because it’s not a race win. It does feel a little bit strange,” he said.
Piastri started on the pole but was overtaken by Mercedes driver George Russell before regaining first place as Russell’s soft-compound tires started to degrade.
FIA, the governing body for the international open-wheel circuit, said Saturday it could mandate at least three pit stops with tire changes during Sunday’s Qatar GP. That announcement came in response to concerns that the side walls of the Pirelli tires have been damaged when cars run over the pointed “pyramid” curbs used in Qatar.
The track has already been narrowed at one point to stop cars running quite as wide over the curb.