Max Verstappen has been crowned Formula One world champion for the third time in succession after he finished second to Oscar Piastri in Saturday's chaotic sprint round in Qatar.
The 26-year-old Dutchman has emulated Jackie Stewart and Ayrton Senna by wrapping up his third title with six grands prix still remaining - equalling Michael Schumacher's 21-year-old record.
Red Bull's Verstappen has dominated Formula One since he beat seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to clinch his maiden title at the deeply controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021.
And his runner-up finish, coupled with Sergio Perez's failure to finish in the top three - he crashed out with eight laps remaining - was enough to seal the deal under the floodlights of the Lusail International Circuit.
Verstappen's championship parade will start at Sunday's 57-lap Grand Prix here in Qatar.
Lando Norris finished third for McLaren, one place ahead of Mercedes' George Russell with Lewis Hamilton fifth.
Verstappen's championship-winning campaign has been one largely led from the front but the Dutchman dropped from third to fifth at the end of the opening lap.
As Russell blasted from fourth to second, a slow-starting Verstappen fell down the order, with Ferrari pair Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc leapfrogging the Red Bull man.
Verstappen momentarily got out of shape at the opening right-hander, with Fernando Alonso nibbling at the back of his machine.
The Dutchman survived and then slung his Red Bull underneath Lando Norris, who had started second, to take fifth.
Moments later, Liam Lawson beached his AlphaTauri and out came the safety car. Meanwhile, Perez, who had to finish in the top three to prevent Verstappen from taking the title, had dropped from eighth to 11th.
Perez threatened to fight Verstappen for the championship by winning two of the opening four rounds of the season. However, the Mexican's challenge has faded desperately - he has not won since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 30 April.
In came the safety car at the end of the second lap, and Russell, on the speedier, but less durable soft tyres, made his move on the medium-shod pole-sitter Piastri to assume the lead.
Then, the error-prone Logan Sargeant put his Williams in the gravel. The safety car was deployed again as the American's stricken machine was cleared from danger.
The safety car pulled in at the end of lap five and Russell raced away from Piastri as Verstappen - on the slower, but more durable, medium rubber - set about his comeback.
First to be swatted aside was Ferrari's Leclerc on the main straight on lap nine, with Sainz the Dutchman's next victim on the following lap.
The race was starting to come back to those on the medium tyres, and Piastri roared past Russell to reclaim the lead at the start of lap 11.
And then the championship was officially over when Perez's race ended in the gravel at Turn 2. Esteban Ocon attempted to overtake Nico Hulkenberg on the inside of the second corner, and with Perez to the right of the Haas driver, Ocon lost control of his Alpine and took Perez with him. It summed up Perez's woefully disappointing campaign.
The safety car was deployed for a third time before a five-lap blast to the flag.
On lap 16, Verstappen eased past Russell with Piastri 2.6 sec up the road. However, the McLaren man could not be caught.
But Verstappen, who needed to finish only sixth to be sure of the title, need not worry as he celebrated becoming just the 11th driver to win the world championship on more than two occasions.
"This championship is the best one," said Verstappen.
"The first one was the most emotional because that is when my dreams were fulfilled. But this has been my best year in terms of performance.
"I am the most proud of this one because of how consistent I have been. I will have quite a few sparkling waters tonight, but I will be here tomorrow."
Starting on pole on Sunday, he could claim the 49th win of his career with only Hamilton (103 victories), Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him.
Verstappen turned 26 only last week, and the prospect of emulating the seven championships shared by Hamilton and Schumacher is surely possible.
"I am enjoying the moment and hopefully we will keep this momentum going for a while," said Verstappen, whose deal with Red Bull runs until 2028.
"It is different to other sports where you can set out targets and if I keep in good shape then these things are possible.
"But in F1 it doesn't always work like that. It depends on the package. I have quite a few more years in me to operate at my best but we will see how long that is. It is more about how long I want to be here.
"I live in the moment and I have achieved way more than I ever thought was possible."
