Max Verstappen defied the odds to snatch victory away from Lando Norris and George Russell at a weather-hit Canadian GP last weekend. However, the Dutchman’s 60th Grand Prix win also ensured that the three-time world champion maintained one of his insane F1 records.
Ever since the Dutchman won his maiden F1 world championship at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, the Red Bull driver has amassed a whopping forty Grand Prix wins, including the recent wet-dry thriller at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. According to a post on X (formerly Twitter), Verstappen now has an incredible run of going 700+ days without losing consecutive races.
The last time Verstappen lost two races in a row was at the 2022 British GP (he finished 7th) and the 2022 Austrian GP (he finished 2nd). Hence, he has not lost two races on the trot since July 2022.
It has now been over 700 days since Formula 1 saw Max Verstappen lose back-to-back races.
He hasn’t lost two races in a row since July 2022. A pretty incredible streak.
@vladimirrys pic.twitter.com/Q0BAw0XVS2
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) June 11, 2024
Verstappen’s road to victory in Montreal, however, was not the easiest. He benefitted from a Safety Car period which allowed him to jump McLaren’s Lando Norris. From there on, however, the Dutchman kept a healthy lead to his rivals and took the chequered flag first.
After a long time, the last four Grand Prix have made Verstappen and Red Bull look vulnerable. The RB20 has had its flaws exposed by rivals like McLaren and Ferrari. Now, with even Mercedes seemingly joining the party, can the Milton-Keynes-based team get on top of their issues?
Can Red Bull fix the RB20 and give Max Verstappen a chance to retain his title?
The problems with the RB20 are pretty clear-cut – the car struggles over bumps and kerbs. Team advisor Helmut Marko has himself ruled out an increase of the ride height to counter this issue as he believes it would lose them a ton of downforce.
While on paper the RB20 has been left exposed, Verstappen has admitted that his team are yet to figure out the root of these issues. “First of all, we need to understand what it is because we clearly don’t understand it,” explained the #1 driver per RacingNews365.
Max Verstappen’s 60th career victory at the Canadian Grand Prix is particularly satisfying, given the challenges faced with the RB20.
– Verstappen highlighted the team’s excellent work in managing the chaotic race conditions in Montreal.
– The RB20’s characteristics, such as… pic.twitter.com/TRG30sPAFy
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) June 10, 2024
The three-time world champion is also not sure about a potential timeline to address these issues. He feels it won’t be possible this year but hopes for a solution in 2025 and beyond. If that is the case, then the Dutchman’s title defense could be in grave jeopardy with the likes of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc catching up.
