F1, Verstappen is still champion: Super Max makes it three of a kind
Struggle, confirmation and domination. These are the key words that describe Max’s three titles Verstappen. 2021 was the year in which the Dutchman definitively consecrated himself in the eyes of the world and completed his journey from promise to reality, capable of closing that Hamilton era which had partly obscured his merits: and he did just that, fighting, between skirmishes and clashes, before that finale in Abu Dhabi which did not do justice to any of the contenders. In 2022 the he confirms, initially suffering against a new opponent – Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari – only to then take measures and close the case in Suzuka. In 2023 all types of resistance melted away without even waiting for the 40° temperatures of summer: already from the tests in Milton Keynes they knew they had created a jewel capable of dominating the championship; with Super Max, then, everything became even easier, and the third world championship title arrived in Lusail, with six grands prix to spare, as only Michael Schumacher had managed to do in the history of F1.
Perez demolished: the numbers of the domain
An automaton at the wheel, his mistakes in recent years are remembered precisely because they are exceptions and newsworthy, while Sergio’s are Perez they seem like Pierino’s jokes in his school days: every day a new one comes out, you think you’ve heard it but instead it’s different. Even with the systematic destruction of his teammate we get the measure of who Verstappen is: Checo he joins the list of scalps that sees Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo, beaten when the Dutchman put behind him that discontinuity in performance that could be forgiven for a 20-year-old boy. They are all very worthy drivers, who have remained or returned to Formula 1: who knows if Perez will also remain there after this trio of blows; the Mexican, who will be 34 years old at the end of his contract, before his experience in Red Bull was considered the one who deserved the chance in a top team more than anyone, but being Verstappen’s partner – this Verstappen – would be difficult for anyone, of the present and the past, because no mistakes are allowed to beat him. Perez kept the pace in the first five races, then never recovered from the crash in qualifying in Monte-Carlo. Verstappen, on the other hand, started a clear path in Miami that led him to a record of consecutive victories (ten) and was interrupted only in Singapore, where he was the only one to escape the Red Bull disaster.
Numbers in hand, the package put on track by the RB19 and Super Max is the most successful ever so far: 15 victories in 16 grand prix, with the Dutchman having collected 13 leaving only two for his teammate. Max and the team – meanwhile – beat McLaren’s string of successes in 1988: only Ferrari managed to oust them from the top step of the podium, at Marina Bay. He also did it 35 years ago, in Monza: the story that trips up history.
Who will stop Verstappen?
Yes, we are talking about history. The noise and adrenaline of the present often prevent you from taking a breath and seeing reality from a broader perspective, but Verstappen’s cannibalism, Adrian Newey’s genius and Christian Horner’s direction have updated the record books (which will be completed only after the World Cup is over) and promise to do the same in the years to come. Certainly until the end of this generation of power units, therefore also in 2024 and 2025. Are they boring? Maybe someone, maybe more than someone. But it is a problem caused not by Red Bull but by its rivals, as Toto Wolff and Frederic Vasseur have repeatedly admitted. Mercedes, Ferrari and why not the beautiful McLaren of the last races will have the task of dethroning Verstappen. That today, just turned 26, he took his third step into Olympus. In a row, without ever stumbling, only Fangio, Schumacher, Hamilton and Vettel had managed it. Best wishes to the rivals: they need it.
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