How Verstappen managed to secure his previous three F1 world titles

Max Verstappen's first world title has gone down in history as one of, if not THE best season finale ever. Max Verstappen won the 2021 F1 world title on the last lap of the final race of the Formula One season by overtaking his direct rival Lewis Hamilton. By finishing ahead of Hamilton, Verstappen won his first world title.

How Verstappen won his first three world titles

A year later, the battle for the world title was far less exciting. That year, Charles Leclerc was Verstappen's biggest challenger on paper, but Verstappen was already crowned world champion in Japan as Leclerc was overtaken by Sergio Perez on the last lap. Verstappen secured the title that year with four Grand Prix weekends to go. The weekend was particularly special because, due to the rain and short race, it was unclear for a long time how many points everyone got and thus whether Verstappen had actually become champion.

In 2023, Verstappen was even more dominant in Formula 1 with his RB19. Throughout the season, Verstappen ended up winning 19 out of 22 Grands Prix and won a record 10 victories in a row.

In 2023, Verstappen finally won the world title in Qatar, when his 'rival' Sergio Perez crashed out of the sprint race. Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull Racing was the only one who could still threaten Verstappen, but after Perez's exit, Verstappen's title was certain. This made Verstappen the first driver ever to win the world title after a sprint race on Saturday. Adding the Qatar GP, Verstappen was the champion with six GPs left on the calendar.

How Verstappen can become world champion in Las Vegas

Verstappen is now 62 points ahead of Norris in the world championship in 2024. With three races to go and one sprint race in Qatar, the battle is not over yet. In fact, there are now a total of 86 points left to be distributed. However, after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, only 60 points remain to be given away so Max is very close to a fourth world title.

Besides the margin in points, Verstappen also has a wide lead in wins. Verstappen has already won eight races in 2024, while Norris has only won three. In the last three Grands Prix, Norris can no longer match that tally, leaving Verstappen with the advantage if it's a tie.

Therefore, if Verstappen wants to become world champion in Las Vegas, Norris close the gap by 2 points. So it goes without saying that Verstappen will become world champion in Las Vegas if he finishes ahead of Norris in the race, whichever place that is. Should Norris win in Vegas, the earliest Verstappen can become world champion is in Qatar.