Max Verstappen clinched his third Formula One world championship title on Saturday during the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race. Verstappen's victory was secured as his Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, crashed out of the race, ending his chances of keeping the title race open for another day.
Perez needed to finish in the top three to extend the championship battle to the main grand prix on Sunday. However, his hopes were dashed after colliding with Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Haas's Nico Hulkenberg on lap 11, leaving his car stranded in the gravel.
This outcome meant that Verstappen, who had started in third position and finished second behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri, became the world champion for the third consecutive year. With an unassailable lead of 184 points and only 172 points left to win, Verstappen's victory was celebrated by his team boss, Christian Horner, over the radio.
Horner congratulated Verstappen, saying, "Max, you are a three-times world champion. That's unbelievable. It's been an incredible year for you."
Verstappen, who has dominated the season with 13 wins out of 16 races, including a streak of 10 consecutive victories, expressed his gratitude to his team, saying, "Yeah, unbelievable guys. I don't know what to say. Thank you for providing me with such a car. It's been a lot of fun this year."
Verstappen's championship win made him the second youngest triple world champion after Sebastian Vettel and the first to secure the title in a sprint event. The last driver to win the title on a Saturday was Nelson Piquet in the 1980s.
Oscar Piastri's victory in the sprint race marked the end of Red Bull's sprint race dominance for the season. The Australian rookie secured his first Formula One victory, although it wasn't a traditional grand prix race for the record books.
Lando Norris finished third, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes taking fourth and fifth places, respectively. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished sixth, but a penalty for exceeding track limits pushed him out of the points, promoting Williams' Alex Albon to seventh and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso to eighth.
The safety car made multiple appearances during the race due to incidents involving various drivers, including Liam Lawson and Logan Sargeant. Despite these interruptions, Max Verstappen will start Sunday's main grand prix at Lusail from pole position.
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