Dutchman’s dominance has not made for an enthralling season but he deserves a better setting than Lusail for his coronation
Once criticised for being too aggressive, impetuous and prone to error, the once flawed Max Verstappen is now all but flawless. On Saturday he will almost certainly seal his third successive Formula One world championship after a season where he has seldom put a foot wrong and the opposition have been distant peripherals to one of the most authoritative title bids the sport has seen since Michael Schumacher had similarly dominant control.
Having exerted an iron stranglehold on the season, Verstappen ensured the 2023 title fight was all over bar the shouting at the last round in Japan. His coronation as a three-time world champion at the age of 26 will likely be completed in the sprint race for the Qatar Grand Prix, where he requires only three points to finish the job and conclude the team’s sixth drivers’ and constructors’ championship double.