Max Verstappen can clinch his third consecutive Formula 1 world championship title this weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix. And he will be able to win it on Saturday.
Verstappen will capture the title if he finishes among the top six drivers in the sprint race scheduled for Saturday. This means that the classic race on Sunday could be a simple car ride.
The prestige of the premier series of motorsport, as well as Verstappen’s coat of arms, could be tarnished if this scenario ever materializes. The Dutchman has already declared that the sprint race – a 19-lap event – should be completely abolished in F1.
“It’s not a real race; “It’s more of a game of chance,” he said after the first sprint race of the season in Azerbaijan in April. I think I would have better luck in Vegas if I went to the casino. I love car racing, its purity, and I think that’s more entertainment. »
The Red Bull driver has been downright dominant this season; he even dropped his teammate Sergio Perez in the general classification a long time ago.
Perez is the only driver who can still mathematically take the title from Verstappen, with six races to negotiate in the 2023 championship. However, even if the Dutchman suffers a retirement during the sprint race, the Mexican will have to sneak into the top 3 to postpone the inevitable.
Verstappen has not only been fast this season, but he has been consistent. When he took his 10th victory of the campaign at the Italian Grand Prix last month, he set an F1 record. Red Bull has won 16 of the last 17 races, a remarkable streak that began last year.
Verstappen mentioned on Red Bull’s podcast this week that “you can’t really take it off for a day or a weekend” in F1. He added that since starting his F1 career with Toro Rosso in 2015 at the age of 17, he had put himself through a meticulous process to eliminate driving errors.
“I was young when I joined Formula 1, so I lacked experience. And because of this lack of experience, sometimes you make mistakes, he explained. In a way, you have to make mistakes in life to become a better driver, and a better person. It all depends on the lessons you learn from these trials, how you manage to commit them again, and in my opinion, it is a process that is perpetual. It will never stop. It will only stop at the end of my racing career. In a way, you have to follow your learning curve and avoid making the same mistake twice. »
On the other hand, American driver Logan Sargeant, who succeeded Toronto’s Nicholas Latifi at Williams, has still not scored a ranking point, and he still does not have a contract in sight for 2024. The British team however, indicated that it wished to retain its services.
“Logan has very well-defined objectives between now and the end of the season and we are constantly working with him,” Williams director James Vowles said by videoconference last week. We want him to be successful, and we want him to drive for us next year. »
Sargeant suffered an accident in qualifying and a collision with Valtteri Bottas during the final event in Japan, but Vowles ensured that the American continued his progress. He also added that his performance was similar to that of his teammate, Alex Albon.