A Dazzling Crowning Moment

Before the Las Vegas GP, Verstappen’s only remaining rival for the title was Lando Norris. Despite both drivers having a less-than-ideal performance on race day, Verstappen leveraged his points advantage to finish ahead of Norris, successfully defending his crown. After 50 laps, Verstappen secured 5th place, one spot ahead of Norris, officially clinching the 2024 F1 championship with two races still to go. This marks his fourth consecutive title. Verstappen’s victory in the Sprint race at the Qatar GP on November 30th further highlighted his dominance in the 2024 season. The final race in Abu Dhabi on December 8th will give him an opportunity to cap off the season with another strong result. Regardless of what happens in Abu Dhabi, this fourth championship places Verstappen among F1’s all-time greats, joining Sebastian Vettel, Alain Prost (4 titles), Juan Manuel Fangio (5 titles), and Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton (7 titles).

Max Verstappen, born on September 30, 1997, is a Dutch Formula 1 driver. In 2015, he made history as the youngest driver to ever compete in Formula 1, joining Toro Rosso. In the opening race of the 2015 season, he broke Jaime Alguersuari’s record to become the official youngest-ever driver at just 17 years old. Verstappen won his first championship title in the 2021 season six years later. It was a particularly tough year for him, as he lost the lead twice to Lewis Hamilton. However, Verstappen regained first place after the Turkish GP, where he finished second and Hamilton was fifth. He then extended his lead with back-to-back victories at the U.S. and Mexican GPs, ultimately securing his first championship. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Verstappen continued racing for Red Bull, successfully defending his title in both years and achieving three consecutive championships. Notably, from the 2022 season onward, Verstappen chose to race as the reigning champion, using the number 1 instead of his permanent number, 33. Since the introduction of fixed starting numbers in 2014, Verstappen became only the second driver, after Sebastian Vettel, to adopt this number during the same season.

Max Verstappen finished in first place in the Sprint race at the Qatar GP on the night of November 30

In 2024, despite not giving explore performances as in previous seasons, Verstappen maintained consistency and capitalized on the mistakes of his main rivals, securing the F1 2024 championship with two races remaining. Currently, Michael Schumacher and Hamilton share the record with 7 world titles, but it’s important to note that Verstappen is only 27 years old. With his continued high performance, the records of Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton are within his reach, and F1 history could be rewritten if Max keeps up his exceptional form in the years ahead.