2023-10-09 22:02:02
LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — The fight for the Formula One title has been resolved with five races still to be played. The next one will be at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas in a couple of weeks.
For months it was rumored that Max Verstappen was going to repeat as champion, which the Red Bull driver made official on Saturday in the sprint race in Qatar. The Dutchman finished adding exclamation points to his consecration by winning the grand prize staged on Sunday.
There is still some drama left in the season. Red Bull and Verstappen caress records. Mexican Sergio Pérez is fighting to secure second place. And F1 will return to Las Vegas in more than 40 years.
WHAT TO FOLLOW:
Heading into the October 22 event in Austin, Verstappen has 14 wins this season, not including sprints. An additional victory will allow him to match his record of 15 from last year. Red Bull has 16 and will have to take four of the last five to beat the record of 19 in a season that Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton achieved for Mercedes in 2016. No team has swept everything — and Red Bull fell short when Carlos Sainz Jr . won with his Ferrari in Singapore last month. The closest a team came to perfect was McLaren with 15 victories in 16 races, with the duo made up of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988.
PEREZ Y HAMILTON
“Checo” Pérez, Verstappen’s teammate, is in the doldrums after emerging as a candidate for the title at the beginning of the year. He finished 10th on Sunday in Qatar. The Mexican remains second in the drivers’ standings, with a difference of 30 points over Hamilton. He risks being displaced if he doesn’t improve in the last five races. Pérez scored a point on the Lusail street circuit but benefited when Hamilton crashed in the first corner with George Russell, his Mercedes teammate. Pérez could receive a mental boost by having to compete at home when the Mexican GP takes place on October 29.
TO ALL FOR A VICTORY
The McLaren team has shone after a series of adjustments to its car prior to the British GP in July. If Verstappen makes a mistake or suffers a mechanical failure — unlikely things — the door could open for Landon Norris’ first career victory. The Briton has been on the podium 11 times, but never on the top box. The same goes for Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, winner of the sprint on Saturday.
LAS VEGAS SHOW
The Las Vegas GP that will take place on November 18 promises a great show, regardless of the fact that the drivers no longer have much to fight on the track. F1 was previously in the city and staged its race on a temporary circuit in the Caesars Palace parking lot in 1981 and 1982. The new track is shinier. The cars will roll at night along the Las Vegas Strip.
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