Where Max Verstappen ranks for F1 titles alongside Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher

Max Verstappen won his third Formula 1 title on Saturday, successfully securing back-to-back championships by claiming enough points in the Qatar Sprint Grand Prix.

There are currently only 5 drivers in Formula 1 history who have more world championship success than Max Verstappen.

This statistic taken in isolation is quite impressive. It  almost became funny when  he turned 26  just a week ago. Verstappen  has five seasons left, after this one, on his current contract with Red Bull and although there is some suggestion he could retire at the end of the season, he could still choose to extended his F1 career beyond the age of 31. This gives him plenty of time to add even more titles to his already formidable collection.

This third title success was by far the easiest. It was clear from the  first race of the year that Red Bull had a league of its own, and Verstappen destroyed the morale of teammate Sergio Perez, the only man equipped to  fight against him, at Grand Prix Miami in May. .

Since then, it has not been disputed. Things were pretty straightforward at the end of last year, but at least he was put to the test by Charles Leclerc in the first half of this season.  And he may never have a match as dramatic and tense as the one he shared with Lewis Hamilton in 2021. Even though this season ended in a bitter way that no one expected wanted, but it will forever be remembered as one of F1’s greatest  title battles.

With this third world championship success, Verstappen has cemented his place among the  best F1 drivers have ever seen. He joins Jack Brabham, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, ​​Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna as the sixth driver to win three championship titles.

However, he still has a way to go to compete with the best riders in the sport. Hamilton still holds the most important records with 7 world titles, equal with Michael Schumacher, while the British driver still has more than twice as many race wins, 103, compared to Verstappen’s 48, this number is accurate before Qatar 2023. Opening.

And there are three more points that Verstappen must overcome before he can fully achieve that standard. Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio is third on the list with  five titles, all won in the 1950s when the danger of driving such machines was very high.

But next season, Verstappen hopes to win his fourth title. That would suit Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, the latter of whom also enjoyed much of his F1 success as a Red Bull driver a decade ago.