With the Qatar Grand Prix coming up this weekend, Max Verstappen is 177 points clear of Sergio Perez with 180 still available after Japan, meaning Max needs to finish no worse than 6th place to claim 3 points in the Saturday sprint at Losail (Assuming Perez wins the Sprint) to secure his third World Championship.

Still, there is precedent to securing a Formula One World Championship on a Saturday…

Nelson Piquet (Max’s father-in-common law) secured his first two World Championships on a Saturday, the first coming in the 1981 Caesar’s Palace Grand Prix (Held on Saturday, October 17), then 2 years later in the 1983 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami (Held on October 15)…

Fun fact, in both of those years, Piquet was behind in the standings going into the final race, but he twice finished in the points to leapfrog his main rival to take the title.

And, in between Piquet’s titles, Keke Rosberg wrapped up the 1982 title in the Caesar’s Palace parking lot on Saturday, September 25.

So more accurately, Max Verstappen can become the first driver in 40 years to secure the World Championship on a Saturday...

A fact that is helped by no Grand Prix being held on a Saturday since the 1985 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, a run that will end when Formula One returns to Las Vegas next month (The race is on Saturday, November 18.)