FIA has clear stance on changing F1 rules after Max Verstappen's title win

12 October 2023 , 06:00

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Max Verstappen has already won the trophy, but can't lift it until December (Image: Getty Images)

The FIA is adamant it will not consider changing the rules to allow Formula 1 title-winners to get their hands on the trophy as soon as their success is confirmed.

Max Verstappen cemented his status as F1's newest triple-champion at the weekend. By finishing second in the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint, while Sergio Perez crashed out, he made it mathematically certain that the title is his.

But he will have to be patient about getting his tangible reward for his supremacy in 2023. While most sporting triumphs tend to be followed up by the player or team being handed the trophy there and then, F1 doesn't work that way.

The regulations state the champion will get his hands on the trophy at the annual FIA Prize Giving Gala at the end of the year. For 2023, it means a trip out to Azerbaijan in December for Verstappen to finally pick up his prize.

The lack of a trophy to pose with means celebrations such as those enjoyed by Verstappen and his Red Bull team in Qatar feel like they are missing an element, compared to other sporting triumphs. But FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem would be against any moves to change the rules.

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"It's the night of the champions," he told reporters, referring to the annual FIA gala. "When I first won my [Middle East Rally] championship, you have no idea before about the sleepless night before going to France, to be in Paris, to go to the Concorde and to be given a trophy.

"Even now I feel my hairs [on my arm] standing up, because I remember that I was so young, I was 25 years old. To go there is what you dream of, and that's how the other youngsters also look at it.

"It is the night of the champions where the young people can see the winner, the champion of F1. And that's the idol for them. Do you want me to make sure the dream doesn't come true? No."

Of course, the rules could be changed in a way which would allow the F1 title-winner to get their hands on the trophy and still be mandated to attend the Prize Giving Gala. But Ben Sulayem believes it is important to the sport's historical continuity that it happens at that annual event.

He added: "If you are a driver, you want to be like someone. So, to them, to come to that day, of the night of the champions, believe me, it's a dream to them. I see your point, but we give them something and we give something big."

Daniel Moxon