Verstappen may have less than a month to wait for title two

LONDON: Max Verstappen will be 25 years old when he takes his second Formula One world title but whether it is days or weeks after his birthday in Singapore at the end of September remains to be seen.

The Red Bull driver is so dominant that, without wanting to tempt fate in a sport full of danger, it is surely only a matter of when and where rather than if.

Wrapping things up in Singapore on Oct 2 could be a possibility, although Japan seven days later looks more likely depending on what happens in next Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Verstappen's home Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on Sunday (Sep 4) provided a 10th victory in 15 races and left him 109 points clear at the top of the standings with seven rounds remaining.

He turns 25 on Sep 30, when he will be busy with Friday practice for Singapore, and he will need to be 138 points clear by the end of that race to make it more than a birthday celebration.

That is a big ask but closest rivals Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez have failed to score in three races each so far.

On Sunday, Verstappen scored 11 points more than Leclerc and 16 more than Perez.

Super-fast Monza should be good for Red Bull, who romped to a one-two in Belgium, while Singapore could bring Mercedes into the mix.

Third in Zandvoort was Leclerc's best result since he won in Austria in July, while Perez has now finished off the podium in four of the last five races - and if the Mexican is Verstappen's closest rival there is no contest.

The Dutch driver has already matched his 10 wins of 2021, a year in which he took his first title at the last race in controversial circumstances, and he is now on course to pulverise the record of 13 in a season.

Such a milestone carries a caveat, since Michael Schumacher