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After winning his third Formula 1 world championship title this year, Max Verstappen has cemented his place in motorsport history.
At just 26 years old, Max Verstappen has already joined the very exclusive club of triple world champions, a list that reads like a hall of fame: Jack Brabham (1959, 1960, 1966), Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971, 1973), Niki Lauda (1975, 1977, 1984), Nelson Piquet (1981, 1983, 1987), and Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990, 1991). Six drivers now share this record of three titles, and Verstappen's achievement is all the more remarkable because, like Sebastian Vettel before him, he won his first three titles in consecutive seasons, a feat that no other triple champion has ever achieved.
The rarity of a triple crown places Verstappen on a par with the greatest names in the history of the sport. Ahead of him are Alain Prost and Vettel, with four titles each, Juan Manuel Fangio with five titles, and joint record holders Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, with seven titles each. However, Verstappen's rapid rise sets him apart from the legends who took longer to accumulate their laurels.
Let's consider the careers of those who have also won three crowns. Jack Brabham, the only driver to have won a title in a car of his own manufacture, won his first two championships with Cooper in 1959 and 1960, before finishing behind the dominant Ferraris of Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips in the 1961 season. He returned to the top step of the podium in 1966 at the wheel of the eponymous Brabham, a unique feat in Formula 1 history. Jackie Stewart's three titles were won in five seasons, starting with Matra in 1969, followed by two victories for Tyrrell in 1971 and 1973. Each of his victories was interspersed with defeats to Lotus drivers—Jochen Rindt in 1970 and Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972—highlighting the fluctuations in competition at that time.
Niki Lauda revived Ferrari's fortunes with two consecutive titles in 1975 and 1977 before joining Brabham and then McLaren, where he won his third title in 1984. His 1976 season, forever marked by a terrible accident at the Nürburgring and a one-point defeat to James Hunt, hinted at a possible hat trick, ultimately thwarted by circumstances. Nelson Piquet's three titles spanned a decade of technical change. After winning the title with Brabham in 1981 and 1983, a temperamental BMW engine deprived him of a third consecutive title in 1982. He finally clinched his third championship in 1987 with Williams, a season marked by his rivalry with Nigel Mansell. Alain Prost, France's only world champion, narrowly missed out on a fourth consecutive title. After two consecutive titles in 1985 and 1986, he finished second, two points behind Piquet in 1983 and half a point behind Lauda in 1984. With a little more luck, he could have joined the very exclusive club of drivers who have won four consecutive titles. He then added two more victories to his tally in 1989 and 1993. Ayrton Senna shone from his debut in 1984, winning his first title with McLaren in 1988. A fierce duel with his teammate Prost culminated in a collision at Suzuka in 1989, which cost him a second consecutive title. He bounced back to win the titles in 1990 and 1991, cementing his legacy as one of the sport's most charismatic champions.
Michael Schumacher's first consecutive titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 paved the way for a historic run with Ferrari. After a period of rebuilding, he ended the sport's longest title drought by winning the championship in 2000, then went on to dominate with five consecutive championships, a record that still stands.
Lewis Hamilton equaled Schumacher's seven titles, starting with a historic victory in 2008 for McLaren that made him the youngest champion at the time. Regulatory upheavals in 2009 hampered his title defense, but his move to Mercedes in 2013 opened a new chapter, allowing him to win six more crowns between 2014 and 2020.
Sebastian Vettel, the only driver to have retained his first two titles, also achieved a series of four consecutive victories between 2010 and 2013, thanks to the Red Bull chassis designed by Adrian Newey. The arrival of V6 hybrid engines in 2014 tipped the balance in favor of Mercedes and Hamilton, ending Vettel's dominance.
In this context, Verstappen's three consecutive titles not only put him on a par with Vettel at the start of his career, but also set a benchmark for any driver aspiring to join the pantheon of multi-title legends. The Dutchman's trajectory suggests that, if history is any guide, the next step could be a historic fourth consecutive title, a challenge that would once again rewrite the record books. The history books are already sensing the beginnings of a new era. After a nail-biting 2021 campaign that was decided on the very last lap of the season finale, and a 2022 showdown that saw Red Bull and Ferrari battle it out for half the year, Max Verstappen has now won a third consecutive championship by a margin that leaves no room for doubt. At just 25 years old, he holds the record for the youngest driver to win a Grand Prix, clinch a world title, win two consecutive championships, and now become a three-time world champion, all before his 26th birthday. These milestones suggest that his dominance is not a flash in the pan, but a lasting force that is reshaping Formula 1. As Verstappen consolidates his place among the legends of the sport, the next chapter promises to be rich in records, with many of the benchmarks he has already shattered likely to fall again in the seasons to come.
