Max Verstappen has received his third world championship title tonight. The Dutchman was given his third championship trophy during the FIA Prize Giving 2023 gala in a Baku hall filled to the brim with motorsport greats.

On the podium where he received his trophy, the world champion briefly looked back on the past year. “Throughout the year, we were on a great roll. You want to perform every time, every single race weekend. It did hit me a little bit more while I was standing on the podium in Abu Dhabi… You realize the season’s over and you don’t get to drive this car anymore, unfortunately.”

The RB19, Oracle Red Bull Racing’s car during the 2023 Formula 1 season, was one of the most successful cars in Formula 1 history. With 21 wins of 22 races, the team broke several records, including the most wins in the year and the highest winning percentage. Max attributes much of this season’s enjoyment to the car, but the team building it was also crucial to him: “It’s been a lot of great fun to work with everyone. Ofcourse, we all want to win and do the best we can. But when you’re traveling around so much all over the world, you want to also do it with a great group of people, and we have that at Red Bull.”

With his third world title, Max joins the ranks of Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna. Although it is an impressive list, Max still hopes for more next year: “I am proud of what we have achieved this year, but of course, I hope it doesn’t stop there,” he said.