Max dominance: Verstappen, Red Bull officially crowned F1 Champions
Verstappen sensationally racked up 19 out of a possible 22 victories to make it three titles on the bounce, while Red Bull won all bar one race with an RB19 package that will be remembered as one of F1’s most dominant cars
Max Verstappen gets introduced onstage at the FIA awards
AZERBAIJAN: Max Verstappen and Red Bull have been formally crowned as this year’s world champions at the FIA Prize Giving ceremony after securing back-to-back drivers’ and constructors’ championships with an utterly dominant 2023 display.
Verstappen sensationally racked up 19 out of a possible 22 victories to make it three titles on the bounce, while Red Bull won all bar one race with an RB19 package that will be remembered as one of F1’s most dominant cars.
After an early challenge from Sergio Perez, Verstappen hit form, including a run of 10 successive wins to eventually finish 290 points clear of his team mate, while Red Bull wound up 451 ahead of nearest rivals Mercedes.
Verstappen and Perez were both on hand at Friday evening’s ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan to collect their winner and runner-up trophies, with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also in attendance on behalf of the Milton Keynes operation.
Reflecting on his latest title win, Verstappen said, “I think it did hit me a little bit more once I was standing on the podium in Abu Dhabi, you realise the season is over, you don’t get to drive this car anymore, unfortunately.
“It’s been incredible. It’s been great fun as well to work with everyone. We all want to win, we want to do the best we can, but when you’re travelling around so much all over the world you want to also do it with a great group of people, and we definitely have that at Red Bull.”
With the famous trophy in his hands for another year, the Dutchman signed off: “I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved, but I also hope that it doesn’t stop here!”
“It’s something that every man and woman within the team has contributed to behind the scenes to achieve this level of excellency.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton collected his trophy for placing third in the standings, and Oscar Piastri picked up the FIA’s Rookie of the Year award after his impressive debut F1 season with McLaren, which included two Grand Prix podium finishes and a Sprint race victory.
