“Only Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton have podiums at more venues”- Max Verstappen joins elite company among F1 legends after winning in Azerbaijan

Max Verstappen started the Azerbaijan GP from P3 but drove a stellar race to win and extend his lead at the top of the standings. 

Verstappen is just 24-years old, but has been in Formula 1 since 2015. Ever since his arrival in F1, he was billed as a legend in the making and he delivered to his potential after winning the World Title in 2021.

Before 2021, the sport was dominated by Mercedes since the start of the turbo-hybrid era. Even then, Verstappen was regularly in the mix for podium finishes, and even race wins sometimes. His win in Baku last week made him the most successful Red Bull driver of all time in terms of podiums surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s record of 65 podiums.

Another record which the Dutchman added to was, getting a podium finish in yet another track where he hadn’t before. Verstappen has raced in 31 circuits in his F1 career. His win in Baku means that he now has a podium finish in 29 of those circuits. The tracks where he didn’t earn a top three finish till this date are Monza and Mugello.

F1 raced in Mugello back in 2020 as a one-off event, to cover for the cancelled races due to the Covid 19 pandemic. It’s unlikely that the sport will return there in the near future, but Verstappen has a chance at making it 30/31 when F1 travels to Monza this year.

Also read: “Not a surprise, Lewis Hamilton is that successful” – Michael Schumacher shares his thoughts on rookie Hamilton and recognises his talents

Max Verstappen feels that salary caps imposed on drivers are unfair

There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the potential introduction of salary caps in F1. All teams adhere to a budget cap, which came into effect this season and that has caused a bit of controversy.

F1 drivers like Vettel and Hamilton have openly criticized the introduction of salary caps. According to them, the sport is in a very good place financially, which makes it unfair for drivers to not get a deserved share of the paycheck. Verstappen too agrees with this.

“I think no one really knows where it is going to go,” he said. “But from my side, it’s completely wrong. “I think at the moment, F1 is becoming more and more popular. And everyone is making more and more money, including the teams and management.”

“Everyone is benefitting. So why should the drivers, with their IP rights and everything, be capped? We actually bring the show and put our lives at risk. Because we do, eventually. So for me, it’s completely wrong.”

Also read: “You can’t just wake up and be Lewis Hamilton”– F1 fans divided over whether Ferrari can pull of Mercedes 2021 strategy