The exclusive club Verstappen can join with third F1 title in 2023

The Red Bull driver heads into the new campaign bidding to win his third F1 world title off the back of his controversial triumph over Lewis Hamilton in 2021 and dominant run to a second crown last year. 

If Verstappen were to go on to become a three-time world champion in 2023, he would be just the fifth F1 driver in history to win three world titles on the bounce. 

Verstappen would also become just the 11th driver in F1 history to win three or more world championships. 

Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton are the only other F1 drivers to acquire three consecutive championships. 

Fangio was the first to do so when he won four of his five titles in a row between 1954 and 1957. 

It took nearly 50 years for the achievement to be repeated by Schumacher, who set a new benchmark with five straight title successes in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. 

Next to join the club was Vettel, who matched Fangio in winning four consecutive world titles between 2010 and 2013.

The most recent driver was Hamilton, who won four of his seven world championships in a row until Verstappen ended his streak in 2021. 

Asked about the prospect of becoming the fifth member of the illustrious club, Verstappen said: “We work hard as a team to try and make sure we have a chance to fight for it again.

“But only time will tell. I’m not even thinking about these things at the moment. 

“It’s more important that we just focus on having a competitive car and then if we have a competitive car, these things can happen. We have to make sure the car is running well, has no issues, and is quick!”