2023 Drivers' World Championship (Max Verstappen)

Lore & Background

Verstappen won his maiden title in 2021 after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the last race of the season. He won the next two championships in 2022 and 2023, overturning the largest points deficit in Formula One history in the former and breaking numerous records across both seasons. As of the 2024 season, he has not yet secured a fourth consecutive title, and his championship bid continues with Red Bull Racing, which remains a top contender in the constructors' standings.

In Their Own Story

The Sakhir sun hammered down on the asphalt as the checkered flag waved for the nineteenth time that season. Inside the cockpit, the engine's roar was a familiar drone, but the static-filled radio message confirmed what the world had already witnessed: history had been rewritten. Max Verstappen didn't pull into the pits to fight for position; he glided in to seal a conquest so absolute it left the paddock breathless. The RB19 sat in the garage not merely as a machine, but as an unassailable monument to a year where victory was the only variable that mattered.

Reader's Guide

Verstappen's 2023 championship was secured with six races remaining, not four.

Did You Know?

• Verstappen is the youngest-ever driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix, achieving this at age 18 on his debut for Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
• He holds the record for most wins in a season (19), most podium finishes in a season (21), most consecutive wins (10), and most consecutive pole positions (8, shared with Ayrton Senna).
• Verstappen was appointed an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2022 and was listed in the 2024 issue of Time as one of the 100 most influential people globally.