VER GREATEST IN THE MAKING

Underdog Max can clinch his fifth title on the bounce this weekend to put himself firmly in the frame for the F1 hall of fame

- BY ANDY DUNN

IF Max Verstappen somehow claims a fifth world drivers’ championship in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Lewis Hamilton will allow himself a wry smile.

Or something like that. The last time Verstappen snatched a world title at the final race of the Formula One season was in 2021, the first of his four successive crowns.

It was a controversial one, to say the least. And it was complicated, to say the least.

But, basically, an unusual interpretation of safety car procedures by race director Michael Masi, who was subsequently removed from his position, gave Verstappen the chance to pass Hamilton on the last lap and take a record-breaking eighth world title away from the Brit.