Max Verstappen had a grand victory at Suzuka following some disappointing events in Singapore. He was way clear of the entire field ever since the initial laps of the race and kept on building more distance, clearing the spot for the race win.
Max Verstappen currently leads the world championship by a whopping 400 points from teammate Sergio Perez’s 223. With his Suzuka win, Alonso and Hamilton were kicked out of the championship battle, as there are currently only 180 points left at most in the world championship. In such conditions, the championship battle is heavily tilted towards Max Verstappen, to the point that he doesn’t even need a podium finish to win the championship in Qatar.
Max Verstappen F1 championship equation
In the current standings, Sergio Perez is the only logical contender for the World Championship title. Max Verstappen has to basically not get a point from any of the 6 races and Sergio Perez has to win all the remaining races with the fastest lap if he actually wants to win the world championship.
Just a reminder that Max Verstappen can win his 3rd World Championship this week 🏆
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 2, 2023
All he needs to do is finish inside the top 6 during Saturday's Sprint Race in Qatar 🏁 pic.twitter.com/BCG6ZvQpoB
Unfortunately for Sergio Perez, Qatar GP is a Sprint weekend, which means Max Verstappen has more chances at grabbing the crown. To do so, Max only needs to finish 6th in the Sprint race in Qatar and he will be the ultimate winner of the Formula 1 world championship in 2023. The two teammates are in an oxymoron of a situation here because one has to become flawed to the point that he can’t even score anymore and the other has to become near perfect in order to even have a chance at the magnanimous title.
![64245799b643e80019df537c](https://www.sportsknot.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/64245799b643e80019df537c.jpg)
Kelly Piquet shares Verstappen’s birthday celebration moments
Red Bull’s two-time world champion Max Verstappen celebrated his birthday on September 30th, and he turned 26 years old. His girlfriend and partner, Kelly Piquet shared moments from this special moment on her social media handles.
![Screenshot 2023 10 02 203140](https://www.sportsknot.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/xScreenshot-2023-10-02-203140.png.pagespeed.ic.vQi261BHI0.jpg)
She came back home for this occasion and was seen having dinner with her love and among the moments she shared, there was a quick snap of Kelly’s daughter looking over the view and blowing out the candles with Max. They were later joined by their friends at a private yacht party.
![Screenshot 2023 10 02 203254](https://www.sportsknot.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-02-203254.png)
Do you think Sergio Perez will be able to contend for the championship next year or will he leave Red Bull without achieving his dream? Tell us your thoughts on it in the comments.