Runaway leader Max Verstappen is poised to seal a third consecutive drivers’ world title triumph in Qatar this weekend and may become Formula One’s first ‘Saturday champion’ in four decades.

The 26-year-old Dutchman, winner of 13 races this year, leads his Red Bull team-mate and only remaining championship rival Sergio Perez by 177 points after 16 rounds of the 22-race season.

That luxurious advantage means he only needs to score three points to triumph again and could achieve that, or better, in Saturday’s sprint at the Lusail International Circuit. 

Red Bull have won all previous three sprints this season, Perez taking one victory and Verstappen two, a record that makes it likely the newly-crowned constructors’ champions, who clinched that honour for a second successive year at last month’s Japanese Grand Prix, will be favourites again.

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com

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