Max Verstappen has been in the form of his life since the start of the ground-effect era in 2022. His dominance in Formula 1 has been nothing short of jaw-dropping. The Dutchman has been shattering record after record, many of which four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel previously held.
Verstappen is set to break yet another one of Vettel’s records this weekend, and the interesting bit is that it doesn’t even matter where he finishes the race. The Red Bull driver is tied with Vettel for having led the championship on 62 occasions after a race weekend.
After this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Verstappen will lead the championship for the 63rd time in his career, irrespective of his finishing position. As things stand, he has an unassailable lead of 31 points over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc heading into this weekend’s race.
On Sunday, after the #CanadianGP, Max Verstappen will overtake Sebastian Vettel as the driver who has led the title race after the fourth-most Grands Prixhttps://t.co/cJ1misxSh3 #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) June 7, 2024
Therefore, even if Verstappen doesn’t finish the race, he will at least have a five-point lead over Leclerc, assuming that the Monegasque has a perfect race weekend (win and the fastest lap). Once Verstappen passes Vettel in this record, he will look to pass some other legends of the sport.
Alain Prost is currently in third place when it comes to this record, having led the championship 78 times after a race weekend. Michael Schumacher is second, having led the standings on 121 occasions after a race weekend.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton tops the pile, having led the title race 126 times after a Grand Prix weekend. Hamilton took this record from Schumacher after the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix. While Verstappen still has a while to go before he breaks this record of Hamilton’s, the Dutchman has been breaking other records for fun.
Max Verstappen has knocked the F1 record books out of the park
Verstappen’s ability to break records has become a hallmark of his career. In 2022, he broke the record for most wins in a single season, previously held by both Schumacher and Vettel, by winning 15 out of 22 races. But Verstappen didn’t stop there. In 2023, he raised the bar even higher, claiming 19 victories out of 22 races.
This feat of his also helped him break Alberto Ascari’s long-standing record for the highest win percentage in a single season. Ascari had a 75% win rate in 1952, but Verstappen’s 19 wins translated to an impressive 86.3% win rate. That’s not it, as Verstappen also shattered Vettel’s record for most consecutive race wins in a season in 2023.
Max Verstappen’s 2023 Season:
– Most Wins in a season (19)
– Most Points in a season (575)
– Highest Win % in a Season (86.3%)
– Most Podiums in a Season (21)
– Most consecutive wins (10)
– Most laps led in a season (1,003)
– Moves to 3rd all-time in Wins (54)
– 3rd World… pic.twitter.com/RefWzqaqsM— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 26, 2023
Vettel had a streak of nine consecutive wins, but Verstappen managed to win 10 races in a row last year. Adding to his list of achievements, Verstappen also broke his own record for the most points scored by an F1 driver in a single season. He amassed 575 points in 2023, surpassing his previous tally of 454 points in 2022.
