Max Verstappen has now had his name engraved on the F1 World Championship trophy three times. Once watching Sebastian Vettel with admiration, Verstappen now has his own name on that trophy and that is quite special.
You would say you get used to it, but the 2023 F1 season was also special for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman won 19 Grands Prix and was already crowned world champion in Qatar. The trophy was given to Verstappen during the annual FIA Prize Giving, which was still special for the Dutchman.
"I remember when it was still around the Seb years and he was holding the trophy. I thought 'wow that is something really impressive'. You only think it would be quite call to have your name on it. Now I see it three times on there with all these other great drivers on there...it's cool. I can't complain," Verstappen said in a Red Bull Racing video.
With three world titles, Verstappen's name is engraved on the trophy as many times as the names of Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham and father-in-law Nelson Piquet. There are five drivers with their names on the trophy more frequnetly: Sebastian Vettel (4), Alain Prost (4), Juan Manuel Fangio (5), Lewis Hamilton (7) and Michael Schumacher (7).