Red Bull star Max Verstappen claimed his third consecutive world championship title in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race, finishing four points behind Lewis Hamilton.
According to Christian Horner, Max Verstappen is now a three-time world champion, but he may not have spent enough time in the sport to match Lewis Hamilton’s seven times.
Christian Horner suggests Max Verstappen could retire before achieving Lewis Hamilton’s record F1 title
The Red Bull star won his third consecutive world championship title at the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race. Needing just three points at the weekend, the title went to former teammate Sergio Perez.
Verstappen then finished second behind Oscar Piastri’s McLaren and will start on pole for tonight’s main race. Amid an explosively dominant campaign, Verstappen has moved four championships closer to Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
At just 26 years old, Verstappen has plenty of time to overhaul the legendary duo, but it’s likely he will retire before then as his Red Bull contract expires in 2028. During the celebration of the Dutchman’s third title, team boss Horner suggested his star rider might stop to pursue other interests.
May he continue to achieve more. We are riding a wave right now and we want to keep riding that wave for as long as possible,” Horner said, PA reported.
Will Max be in Formula One for a long, long time? I don’t think so. He has ambitions beyond F1 and beyond racing. And at 26, 36 seems a long way away. We have a long-term agreement with him until 2028, and he has always said he will be happy to start and end his career here, but motivation will be a crucial factor.”
After his controversial triumph over Lewis Hamilton in 2021 and a good fight with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc over the first half of 2022, this has undoubtedly been Verstappen’s most straightforward title to date
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