Max Verstappen Clinches Third-Straight Formula 1 Championship, So Are There Any Reasons To Keep Watching?

We all knew this was coming since sometime in late April, but on Saturday in Qatar, Red Bull's Max Verstappen clinched his third straight Formula 1 World Championship.

Red Bull had already clinched the World Constructors' Championship at the previous race weekend in Japan, and Verstappen only needed to finish P6 or better in Saturday's sprint race to secure his third straight title.

It didn't even take the full 19 laps before we knew Verstappen was in position to clinch. His teammate Sergio Perez — the only driver still mathematically capable of catching him — retired partway through the race after tangling with Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Haas' Nico Hulkenberg.

Verstappen just needed to keep his RB19 on track which he did, coming home in P2 behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

It's worth noting that Piastri had a stellar Saturday in which he qualified on pole for the sprint and went on to win it thanks to a smart choice of medium tires for the 19-lap race. Unfortunately, that performance was a bit overshadowed by Verstappen clinching the championship.

So, with 5 grand prix and two sprint races left to run and both championships settled, is there any reason to continue tuning into F1 races for the rest of the year?

Yes, of course there are. Here are a few of them.

McLaren and Aston Martin will be in a tight battle for P4 in the constructors' standings in the final part of the season. (Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP) (Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT/AFP via Getty Images)

Constructors' Standings Battles

Every place in the Formula 1 constructors' standing is worth millions of dollars. So, while Red Bull is already the top dog, you will still see teams scrapping and clawing for any position they can get.

Ferrari is just 24 points behind Mercedes for P2 in the standings, but the most intriguing battle in the final part of the season might be between Aston Martin and McLaren for P4.

Aston Martin started the season strong while McLaren started out looking like a dumpster fire that they strapped some Pirelli tires to. Since about midway through the summer, that has completely flipped.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have routinely been running toward the front, while Aston Martin has struggled a little bit. Lance Stroll especially has had some serious problems scoring, and that has led to McLaren tightening the gap in the standings. Following the sprint race in Qatar, McLaren is just 35 points behind.

Before the sprint race, Aston Martin was 49 points ahead, so you can see how quickly things can change.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez, Williams' Logan Sargeant, and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz are just a few of the drivers who will look to finish 2023 strong to hopefully stay on the grid for 2024 and beyond. (Getty Images)

Drivers Fighting To Stay On The Formula 1 Grid

As it stands, there's only one open spot on the grid and it's the one at Williams currently occupied by Logan Sargeant.

The lone American on the grid will spend the last part of his rookie campaign trying to meet targets set forth by his team and proving that he belongs in F1.

Even some drivers who are currently "safe" (let's be real, no one's seat is ever truly safe) will still want to throw down some strong performances to close the season.

One of them is Sergio Perez. He started the season trading wins with Verstappen, but before long he became mired in a series of poor performances on both Saturdays and Sundays that left him way out of the championship picture.

He's under contract for next season, but there will be pressure on him to prove that he deserves to stay with Red Bull. Perez's seat alongside Verstappen at Red Bull is one of the most coveted in the sport, but it's also notoriously difficult since it involves being directly compared to a generational talent like the Dutchman.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz has also seen his stock rise in recent weeks, and he'll need to finish strong to carry that through the offseason and secure an extension with the Scuderia beyond the 2024 season.

Work is well underway for the inaugural Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)

The Spectacle That Will Be The Las Vegas Grand Prix

There are some great circuits left on the calendar. Brazil's Interlagos, Mexico's Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, and Austin's Circuit of the Americas are all known to offer some exciting races.

But the big race left on the calendar is without a doubt the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

F1 has raced in Vegas before, but that was back in the early '80s and it was in the parking lot of Caeser's Palace. The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix is going to be on the streets including the famed Las Vegas Strip.

It could very well be the biggest spectacle in all of sports this year, let alone just F1 or motorsports in general.

The setting will be incredible, the parties will be insane, and it will no doubt feature the glitz and glamor befitting of its host city.

As for the racing? Well, who knows? We'll have to see how this circuit design works out as far as overtaking opportunities.

This grand prix will also use a somewhat bizarre 10 pm local time start (1 am on the East Coast) which will make it easier for viewers around the world to tune in for.

I can't wait to see some F1 liveries — and there are bound to be some special ones for that race — under the lights in Las Vegas.

So, yeah, there are still plenty of reasons to keep an eye on F1, because there's till plenty of action coming our way.

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