It is done.
Max Verstappen is now a four-time Formula (F1) World Champion after clinching the title on Sunday with a fifth-place finish at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Red Bull main man won the F1 World Championship outright even without a podium finish as he finished ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, whose potentially historic comeback ended with a sixth-place finish at Vegas.
“It’s been a long season and we started off amazing. It was almost cruising, then we had a tough run. But as a team, we kept it together, we kept working on improvements,” said Verstappen at the conclusion of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. “I’m incredibly proud of every one of what they’ve done for me and to stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought was possible, so at the moment I’m feeling relieved in a way, but also very proud.”
Verstappen’s finish put him 63 points clear of Norris with two race weekends left in the F1 season.
Speed Bumps Notwithstanding, Verstappen Is King Once Again
The Dutchman’s road to a fourth title looked like a foregone conclusion just 10 races into the season as Verstappen raced out to seven early wins. However, things got interesting late no thanks to a midseason swoon that saw the Red Bull ace notch just three podium finishes—with Norris racking up five victories.
Verstappen’s early lead proved insurmountable in the end, especially after the now four-time champion raced arguably his greatest race ever at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where he zoomed from 17th on the grid all the way to a spectacular victory. That win in Brazil gave Verstappen the opportunity to win the title outright at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
He did just that, albeit in an anti-climactic fashion. But the job’s finished, regardless.
Verstappen Joins Elite Company
With his fourth title, Verstappen joins an elite group of drivers who have won at least four F1 World Championships. Others in that rarefied group are Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton. All of them, save for Prost, have the distinction of winning four consecutive F1 World Championships.
Schumacher currently holds the record for most consecutive F1 World Championships won at five—a record that looks reasonably within reach for the 27-year-old driver.
