George Rees
Max Verstappen has his sight set on a third consecutive World Championship as Formula One returns to Qatar this weekend for the first time since 2021. Impact’s George Rees previews.
With Redbull wrapping up the Constructor’s Championship in Japan, in what has been a remarkable display of dominance throughout this season, there is little doubt that Verstappen could have his third championship before the race has even started on Sunday with Qatar hosting a sprint on the Saturday.
This would result in the young Dutchman matching Ayrton Senna’s World Championship tally
Verstappen would only have to finish sixth place or higher to secure his title regardless of where his teammate Perez finishes who sits second in the championship. This would result in the young Dutchman matching Ayrton Senna’s World Championship tally while also breaking another record as the first driver to win a championship at a sprint race, adding to the already long list of records held by Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton has his eyes set on second in the championship as he sits thirty-three points behind Sergio Perez in the sister Redbull, with six races to go for the 2023 season Hamilton will have a tough time closing the gap to Perez in what would be a remarkable achievement to obtain second place against a vastly superior Redbull car.
Both drivers have the ability to perform at this fast-flowing circuit, provided their respective teams are able to deliver a strong package
Hamilton having won the last time out in Qatar in 2021 shows he is in a good position to perform, while two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who sits fourth in the rankings only sixteen points behind Hamilton, claimed his only podium during his two-year stint at Alpine at Qatar. Both drivers have the ability to perform at this fast-flowing circuit, provided their respective teams are able to deliver a strong package for the weekend.
Although Redbull have claimed the constructors title, the battle for second is going to be tight, with Mercedes currently sitting second with Ferrari only twenty points behind them. Both teams will be hunting for the runners up position with Ferrari beginning to apply the pressure after a spectacular win from Sainz in Singapore, being the only non-Redbull driver to win a race in the 2023 season. Both teams are going to need their drivers to put in some strong performances over the coming races to help them obtain second.
George Rees
Featured image courtesy of Sebastiaan Stam via Unsplash. Image use license found here. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @maxverstappen1 via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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