During the sprint race of the recently concluded Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen became a three-time Formula One world champion, joining an elite list of just 11 drivers to have achieved the feat. He also became only the fifth driver to score a hat-trick of titles after Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.
While the manner in which his title was sealed was anti-climatic — Sergio Perez, his teammate and the only driver with a near-improbable mathematical chance of keeping the fight alive, crashed out of the race — it capped off one of the best campaigns in the sport’s history.
