After another dominant season by Red Bull and their number-one driver, two-time world champion Max Verstappen can become a three-time world champion this weekend in Qatar.
With still five races left of the 2023 FIA Formula One race calendar, Red Bull have already secured the constructors championship last time out at Suzuka.
Verstappen needs a 146-point lead coming out of this race weekend, but not only that, the Dutch driver can even secure the title in the sprint race on Saturday before the grand prix race on Sunday.
In a never-done-before style, much like most of the records broken and stats made and created by Red Bull and their championship-winning driver this season, no driver has won a title in a sprint race.
With the sprint being a reasonably new addition to F1 race weekends, we have looked at the different ways in which Verstappen could secure the title.
How can Max Verstappen win the 2023 F1 Drivers’ Championship?
- Finish sixth or higher in the sprint race – Verstappen claims the F1 title no matter where Perez finishes.
- Finish seventh in the sprint, and Perez must win the sprint to deny Verstappen the title – at which point he can still claim his third championship crown at Sunday’s grand prix.
- Finish eighth in the sprint, and Perez finishes outside the top two.
- If he misses out on any points in the sprint, Verstappen will win the world championship if Perez finishes outside the top three.
- If Max misses out and Perez finishes inside the top three, All will not be lost for Verstappen. He needs that 146-point lead to win the title after Sunday’s grand prix. His current advantage is 177.
