It would be an exaggeration to say that an eyebrow was raised. There was simply a furtive exchange of glances, a private acknowledgment that Max Verstappen was finally, inevitably, world champion for 2023.
The brief eye contact was between Max’s father, Jos, and his manager and long-time family friend, Raymond Vermeulen, the numbers cruncher who negotiated the £50 million salary that the most popular motorsport will cash in every year until the end of 2028.
The looks came eight laps from the end of Saturday’s chaotic sprint race, when Verstappen’s only nominal rival for the title, his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, was trapped by an enthusiastic Esteban Ocon at the second turn .
Perez was removed from the track. Sand was flying everywhere, emblem of the Mexican’s doomed season.
The mood in the garage was that of suspended animation. Verstappen retained the world title at this point. But no one has applauded, yet. This would be bad form, as Perez’s mechanics were sitting side by side with those who were inwardly jubilant.
Max Verstappen won his third consecutive world title in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint
Verstappen only needed sixth place to confirm his triumph, but he then took second place.
The champion can now begin his celebrations after clinching the world crown this weekend
The fact that Verstappen’s side of the sweaty garage is full is indicative of the pulling power of success; Perez is naked. The furthest from the stands, glued to the fences, were Jos and Raymond; further away, on a stool, his head close to one of the smaller monitors, sat Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport consultant.
The team director, Christian Horner, came as usual to watch the start before taking his position on the pit wall.
On the headset, just before the start, sports director Jonathan Wheatley asked the mechanics to raise their hands to show that they could hear him, that the radio was working. They were asked to be vigilant in case of an unscheduled pit stop on the first lap.
The regimented and trained routines continue. Not that there are any nerves in Verstappen’s camp. “It’s not like Abu Dhabi two years ago, all the way,” Jos told me before the lights went out.
“We know the other guy can’t win the remaining six races and three sprints.” That’s what Perez had to do, then rely on Max not to score.
A moment earlier, in the Red Bull reception area, Vermeulen called Verstappen’s race engineer and sometimes comedic training partner, Gianpiero Lambiase, known as GP.
‘Nervous?’ asked Vermeulen. “Nervous about what?” » countered GP. ‘The hard work is done.’
Kelly Piquet, Verstappen’s Brazilian girlfriend and daughter of another three-time world champion, Nelson, was eating a steak outdoors during those minutes of racing before the sprint.
Verstappen’s victory was confirmed when Sergio Perez left the sprint event
The rampant champion has won 13 of 16 races so far this year and has proven untouchable.
A week earlier, she celebrated Max’s 26th birthday on a boat off the coast of Monaco, a party she had organized.
Dressed in a cream dress, her nails were painted gold for her man’s coronation. His shoes and their straps were golden. Her purse was gold.
Around sixty mechanics are authorized in the garage. Once they have groomed their car before their laps, they sit down, not according to which driver they are working for, but rear axle men together, front axle men together, ready for a car at the pit.
Their contribution was to encourage Verstappen’s overtaking. He started third, moved up to sixth place and remained fifth for a moment.
From the outset, GP urged patience from the world champion – a master, like the best, of digesting embarrassing radio messages at 210 mph while adjusting myriad dials and pressing more than a dozen buttons on the size of smarties on computer-like steering wheels.
Verstappen was congratulated by Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali after his title victory
Hamilton was forced to abandon the race after the first accident between Mercedes and Mercedes.
“The soft tires will come to us,” GP said, reflecting how Verstappen’s slower but more durable medium tires were turtles in a race with soft rubber hares.
On the ninth lap, Verstappen overtook Charles Leclerc. Cheers! Next, Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari.
Cheers! Finally, George Russell, his Mercedes tires blown. Cheers! Verstappen finished a rare second on his big day behind McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri.
The race over, the formality of the championship concluded, the hugs begin. Blue and gold caps and T-shirts were unwrapped, fears of ill fate due to premature celebration having disappeared. The time of hidden joys was over.