Rarely in the history of Formula 1 has it been so clear who was going to be the world champion. Not even the start of a surprising Fernando Alonso with an Aston Martin that has ended up deflated, or Sergio Pérez, whose candidacy only his staunchest fans believed but who, in theory, should have a car up to the mark, have been able to prevent Max Verstappen won his third consecutive world title this Saturday. With six grand prix remaining (something that only Michael Schumacher achieved), the Dutchman was crowned again and, except for an unexpected technical turn, everything indicates that it will not be the last time.
Verstappen joins the three-time champions’ club, although everything seems to indicate that he will leave them behind shortly, as he did with the two-time champions Fernando Alonso, Mika Hakkinen, Jim Clark and Emerson Fittipaldi. He now looks into the eyes of Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet – with whom he has family ties -, Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart and Jack Brabham. Verstappen’s emergence onto the Formula 1 scene already speaks for itself.
What driver was this that they fought over (almost literally) at Mercedes and Red Bull, to the point of convincing him with the idea of directly promoting him to an F1 before moving through lower categories? Intrigues in the offices is the kingdom of Helmut Marko, the all-powerful advisor of the energy drinks team, and he demonstrated his good eye – this is literal, since the other one has it made of glass due to an accident during his competition days. – with Verstappen. A worthy heir to the glory years of Sebastian Vettel, Jos’s son has far surpassed his father and there are already those who put him on a par with giants like other three-time champions… and beyond.
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The figure of Ayrton Senna is widely invoked by those who see in a young driver one of the greatest potential talents expected. In the case of Verstappen it was like this: from the beginning he was proclaimed as the ‘new Senna’, with how dangerous it is to set expectations so high. In certain things they are remarkably similar. With a very strong character, many times above what his own safety and that of other drivers would recommend and with an innate ability to be fast in practically any circumstance, there are already those who see in Verstappen a true spiritual heir to Senna. Although you may have to look at another three-time champion to see his true character.
A ravenous hunger
And Formula 1, like many other fields of life, has a certain endogamous point. Drivers who end up having relationships with journalists, friends from the paddock who end up being something more… This is what happened to Verstappen with Kelly Piquet, his current partner, and daughter of the legendary Nelson Piquet. Three-time champion in the 80s, when Max was not even in the pipeline, the parallels between father-in-law and son-in-law are notable: an innate bad temper, a certain disdain and lack of humility in many aspects and, above all, a voracious hunger to win. If he has to bite, he bites. If he has to hit, he hits.
In this sense, there are those who see a certain cruelty in Verstappen. Proof of this is what he did at the end of 2022, when he already had the World title tied and refused to give up his position to Sergio Pérez. “Destroy what you see and don’t be generous,” as they said in a certain pirate movie saga. Something similar to what happened to Lauda, willing to win as long as a certain risk could be assumed and not one bit more. Verstappen is aware that he has the opportunity to become the greatest, but also that at any moment he can sink if Red Bull does not do his job, which is to give him a superior car.
The risk factor has long been lost in Formula 1. Verstappen is part of a generation in which even serious accidents like the one Romain Grosjean had in Sakhir in 2020 are resolved in the hospital and not in the cemetery. The three-time champion owes a lot, like the rest of the field, to the enormous work done by the legendary Sir Jackie Stewart, the oldest living world champion. The Scot got tired of seeing how his teammates, rivals and friends died because of the lack of security. Verstappen himself benefited from his fight, when that accident at Silverstone caused by Lewis Hamilton’s unconscious maneuver in 2021 sent him straight into the barriers.
The big question is not in the number of titles that Verstappen will win, but when he will stop achieving them. In a championship in which there are more and more races, having such a superior car is practically a guarantee of success, much more so than in past times. Proof of this is pointing to the legendary Jack Brabham. Pilot, mechanic, engineer and later founder of a team, the New Zealander won three titles in the early years of Formula 1 and ‘only’ won 14 races. Verstappen, in the absence of what he can do this Sunday in Qatar, already has 13… only in this immense 2023.
Out for a sprint
The sprint in Qatar left Oscar Piastri as the winner, as expected given what was seen in the only free practice sessions on Friday and qualifying and in the last races. Few surprises in this sense, on a flat circuit and without many possibilities of serious incidents in which safety cars continued to appear. The first were caused by Lawson and Sargeant in the early stages, but the most serious was the one that had one of the Red Bulls as a victim. As it could not be otherwise, Verstappen did not take any chances, and gave up several positions… but given that Checo Pérez decided to rule himself out in an accident with Ocon, it was enough for the new world champion to walk to the finish line . Verstappen’s second place gave him plenty to sing the praises.
As for the Spanish, Fernando Alonso left with a certain sadness, given that Aston Martin has given up in 2023 and they did not even bring minimal evolutions to this track. The Asturian, who started ninth, initially finished in that same position, so he did not score… until Charles Leclerc was penalized five seconds for breaking the track limits. Alonso had given up seventh place on the last lap to an explosive Hamilton, who fought for the ‘top 5’ until the last meters with the Ferraris. Carlos Sainz finished sixth, with Leclerc out of the points, demonstrating once again that one of the most interesting fights this year is within the Scuderia… and for the moment the Madrid native benefits.
2023-10-07 21:15:11
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