There’s only one word that does justice to Max Verstappen in 2023: Dominant. The 26-year-old has been on another level throughout this season, and has wracked up and broken a multitude of records in 2023, for his troubles. That being said, there is one particular accolade that the Dutchman has failed to achieve this year, as reported on Twitter.
Verstappen has broken countless records this season. For instance, the Dutch driver has the longest streak of poles to win conversion, and the most expensive super license ever with over a million spent. But the most iconic record he holds in 2023, is of winning 10 races in a row that he stole from 9x consecutive winner, Sebastian Vettel himself.
His team has been very instrumental in his triumphs, too. Verstappen cruised to his third consecutive title this year strapped into arguably the most dominant car ever built! Adrian Newey’s brainchild, the RB19 has been in supreme form all throughout the year and it has propelled Verstappen to F1 immortality, this season.
Despite inactivity, Sebastian Vettel still reigns supreme over Max Verstappen
Vettel ended his illustrious F1 career last year. With 4 championships in the bag, the German also held the record for most consecutive wins in the sport. Securing 9 wins on the trot in 2013, the record lasted for a decade before Max Verstappen snatched it away from him at the 2023 Italian GP with his 10th consecutive win of the season.
Even Verstappen’s own records don’t stand a chance against the might of the Dutch lion. He became the only driver to win 15 Grands Prix in a season last year. Now, with 5 races to go, he only needs on more win to equal that record, and another to obliterate it.
But Vettel has the edge over Verstappen on one account. Back in the 2011 season, Vettel became the driver with most poles scored in a season, with 15 to his name that year. As Charles Leclerc grabbed pole yesterday, Verstappen who has 10 poles this season won’t be able to match or break that record with only 4 more Qualifying sessions to go in 2023.
Verstappen may be left exposed to McLaren and Co. in the future
Max Verstappen’s dominance this season has been linked to his robotic consistency. He hasn’t put a foot wrong during races. However, maybe that has come at a cost of single-lap pace. Hence, his Qualifying record hasn’t been as explosive as his race pace, by relative standards, of course.
But another layer of complexity has started to creep in for Verstappen as he eyes to maintain his hold over the sport of Formula 1. McLaren have been making huge strides forwards to catch up to the Bulls.
And the Woking-based team have another ace up their sleeves in the shape of a strong driver lineup consisting of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Naturally, in 2024, Verstappen is expected to run into problems as he faces an uphill task on two fronts against Norris and Piastri.
