Minichamps 1:43 Red Bull RB19 2-Car Set – Max Verstappen, Qatar GP & Sprint 2023 Art. 412231801

A two-car set in 1:43 of the Red Bull RB19 as raced by Max Verstappen at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix weekend — the sprint car and the Grand Prix car, both in the matte blue livery with car number 1. Mounted on display bases in official Red Bull packaging.

He won the world championship on the Saturday

That is why this set has two cars in it, and it is the thing the packaging does not explain.

Formula One sprint weekends run a short race on Saturday for points. At Qatar in October 2023, Verstappen needed only a handful of those points to be mathematically champion — and he took them by finishing second in the sprint, behind Oscar Piastri.

So he became a three-time world champion on a Saturday afternoon, in a race he did not win, before the Grand Prix had even started. He then won the Grand Prix on Sunday anyway.

Clinching a title in a sprint race had never happened before, because sprint races had only existed for two years. It is the kind of first that will be repeated and then forgotten, and this set is from the year it was new.

The season around it

2023 is the most dominant season in Formula One history by win rate. Verstappen won 19 of 22 races — 86 per cent — including ten in a row, which is also a record. Red Bull won 21 of 22 as a team.

Whether that made for good racing is a separate argument. As a piece of sporting statistics it is unlikely to be beaten.

Specifications

Scale: 1:43 · Two RB19 models: Qatar sprint and Grand Prix · Matte blue livery, car number 1 · Diecast · Display bases and official Red Bull packaging · Age: 14+