Max Verstappen has been relentless in breaking records in F1 since the turn of the decade and his maiden championship triumph in 2021. In fact, his dominance in the ground-effect era is a candidate for the most dominant periods in the sport’s history. After sealing his fourth consecutive world championship at the Las Vegas GP, the Dutchman is set to complete 1,000 days at the top of the drivers’ championship standings early next year.
Verstappen started the 2022 season on an inconsistent note with Red Bull having reliability issues with the RB18. This gave the championship lead to Charles Leclerc. However, as the Austrian outfit resolved its issues, Verstappen was back to his relentless best.
It was at the Spanish GP on May 22nd, 2022 when the #1 driver reclaimed the lead in the drivers’ standings and hasn’t relinquished it since. The confirmation of his fourth championship triumph in Las Vegas last week will confirm that no other driver can lead the drivers’ championship before the 2025 season starts in mid-March.
By that logic, Verstappen will complete 1,000 days atop the drivers’ championship on February 15th, 2025. It has been quite the run for the Red Bull driver and he managed to maintain it despite several challenges this season.
Max Verstappen will become the first F1 driver in history to lead the drivers championship for 1,000 days after securing the title in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/p76IJxGhno
— Autosport (@autosport) November 28, 2024
The 27-year-old cemented his name alongside some of the great world champions of the sport by becoming a four-time world champion. Now, he is being compared to former dominant champions like Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Ayrton Senna.
Similarly to Verstappen, even they had such win streaks and set themselves apart from the rest of the grid. However, Verstappen’s 1,000-day record is a first with him recently surpassing the old record set by Schumacher.
The Ferrari legend led the drivers’ championship for 896 days from September 2000 to March 2003. Verstappen surpassed that after the Sao Paulo GP weekend.
