The Formula One world champion is Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen won his third Formula One world title in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday.

Few sports outcomes seem inevitable. Human and F1 engineering errors can happen at any time, with competitors ready to pounce. However, sometimes someone dominates so much that any anticipation or tension about the outcome fades.

The 26-year-old, who has won 13 of 16 races this season, needed to finish sixth or better in the sprint race, a shortened version of a traditional Sunday race introduced in 2021, to win the title.

Verstappen, who finished second, won the championship when teammate Sergio Pérez crashed out in the 11th of 19 laps, preventing him from earning championship points.

A great feeling. This year was incredible. Max Verstappen told Sky Sports he was proud of the team. “Three-time world champion is incredible.”

Verstappen qualified third for the 100km race under the lights at the Lusail circuit, with Pérez five places behind at the start, making a title defense inevitable on Saturday.

Last year's car won 17 of 22 races, but this year's car has been called one of the best ever built.

Verstappen joins Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, and Ayrton Senna as three-time world champions.

Only Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, and Sebastian Vettel have more world titles.