Verstappen wins his third Formula One title as Piastri wins the sprint

On Saturday, Max Verstappen put his name to the group of multiple Formula One world champions after Red Bull teammate and only championship contender Sergio Perez crashed out of the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.

Mexican Perez needed to finish in the top three to keep the championship alive until Sunday's main race, but his ambitions were dashed after colliding with Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Haas' Nico Hulkenberg on lap 11. The Red Bull became stuck in the gravel, and Perez stepped out.

Verstappen, who started third and finished second to McLaren's Oscar Piastri, was crowned champion for the third year in a row, with an unassailable lead of 184 points and just 172 points to go.

Verstappen has won 13 of the 16 Grands Prix so far this season, including 10 consecutive victories. He also became the second youngest triple world champion, following now-retired German Sebastian Vettel, who won the third of his four titles with Red Bull in 2012 at the age of 25, and the first to do it in a sprint race.

Piastri's triumph halted Red Bull's dominance in the sprints this season and gave the Australian rookie his first F1 victory, albeit not a true grand prix.

Lando Norris finished third, with Mercedes' George Russell fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth having started 12th and profiting from the crashes before of him.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was sixth, with teammate Charles Leclerc seventh, but was penalized five seconds for exceeding track limits and bumped down out of the points. That moved Williams' Alex Albon up to seventh with Fernando Alonso eighth for Aston Martin

SportsLigue