Max Verstappen has stormed to yet another championship as he sealed his 3rd consecutive title in Qatar today. The Dutch lion finished second in Saturday’s Sprint Race at the Lusail International Circuit. With his closest championship rival, Sergio Perez retiring from the race, his 3rd title was sealed before the race was over. Most people expect the 26-year-old to be ecstatic about this achievement. But Verstappen, while basking in the glory of his triumph, was still ruing the missed opportunity as he couldn’t seal the race win, as reported by Viaplay.
The race that ended so well for Verstappen didn’t quite start as he would’ve planned. Starting on the more conservative medium compound tires, the now 3x champion got off to a bad start and was soon gobbled up by the soft tire runners. As a result, he couldn’t quite manage to get the jump on Oscar Piastri at lights out and fell back into the pack.
#F1 – Max Verstappen seals third title with P2 as Oscar Piastri wins Qatar Sprint 🇶🇦
Read more: https://t.co/Wi6vAMcqHA@F1 #QatarGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/h5sM4bXcFQ
— FIA (@fia) October 7, 2023
As tire degradation kicked in for the soft runners, Verstappen came to life. After three Safety Car interruptions, Verstappen climbed up to P2. While he couldn’t catch and pass Piastri, P2 was enough to seal the championship. But as Oscar Piastri secured his maiden F1 win and Verstappen his 3rd title, the Red Bull talisman was gutted he couldn’t win it all.
Max Verstappen laments the unlucky Qatar Sprint that sealed his 3rd F1 title
Verstappen wasn’t all that impressed with how the race panned out. Speaking about his performance, he explained, “In itself it went quite well, but I lost quite a few places at the start. I didn’t have a very good start and everyone who started on softs really had a lot of grip those first few laps. I was trying to win that race, but I fell a few laps short.”
The Dutchman blamed the prolonged Safety Car periods for hampering his chance to utilize the delta of his mediums to the waning soft tire runners around him. He continued, “It was just bad luck that we had the safety car twice, which of course made the race even shorter and we obviously need longer stints to really make a difference.”
OSCAR: “I’m very happy, it was a very stressful race! Safety Cars were my friend today, especially when Max got behind me”#QatarGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/8HSPjFzKjW
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 7, 2023
When quizzed about how he felt about joining the elite 3x club of Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda et al., he exclaimed, “That’s not a bad list, I think.” In part, Perez’s DNF is what guaranteed his elite status even before the chequered flag was waived. But Verstappen chose not to address that particular elephant in the room.
Verstappen makes a promise to his fans
After such a historic feat, Verstappen deserves to let loose. However, the 3x champion isn’t going to risk the chance of glory tomorrow for a short-lived bout of excessive celebration. “I’ve never done it, but I don’t think it will happen either,” replied the flying Dutchman when asked if the fans were going to see a hungover Verstappen take to the track for the Grand Prix tomorrow.
Verstappen knows that complacency could cost him and the team dearly. Hence, despite wrapping up both, the driver’s and constructors’ championships now, he was adamant that the team will still push for wins for the remainder of the season, including tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
All in all, Verstappen was in high spirits. He even joked that his Red Bull can was genuine and not an attempt to mask any alcohol being consumed! Can Verstappen make it win number 14 in 2023 at the Qatar Grand Prix?
