- At 25, Max Verstappen is already seen as one of the most experienced drivers in Formula 1 history.
- After winning the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen became the sixth most-successful F1 driver in terms of victories.
- If he continues his form throughout 2023, Verstappen could rewrite several records before year-end.
With his 40th Formula 1 victory last time out in Spain, Max Verstappen has ensured that he is among the most successful drivers in the sport’s history.
Of course, many will question this and say that he is not the greatest nor among the greats, but the on-track statistics suggest that the Red Bull driver is on his way to embedding himself in the history books.
Since making his debut for the Red Bull F1 team at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix and winning the race, everyone realised that signing the youngster was a stroke of genius on the part of Red Bull. The thing at the time was that everything needed to come together for the Dutchman to hit his groove.
It may have taken a few seasons – remember, he was only 17 when he debuted in 2015 in the Torro Ross car in Australia – but since 2021, when he turned 24, he has been … different.
He still had those erratic tendencies, but he had gained more maturity and began losing the boy as he stepped up to becoming the driver we know today.
With his current contract with Red Bull expiring at the end of the 2028 season, Verstappen could still break many F1 records – including the ones we list below.
Max Verstappen celebrating his 2023 Monaco victory with his Red Bull team
Max and the stats
With two F1 Drivers’ championships to his name, Verstappen is set to secure a third successive title by the end of 2023. En route, he has achieved the following:
• His 40 F1 victories put him sixth on the all-time list, one behind legend Ayrton Senna. Lewis Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher (93) are the two F1 drivers with the most wins. Verstappen also holds the record for the most wins in a single season (15) achieved in 2022.
• Verstappen has appeared on the F1 podium 84 times, putting him seventh on the all-time list. These are split between his victories (40), 28 second-place finishes (ninth on the all-time list), and 16 third-place finishes (22nd on the all-time list).
• It’s strange to think that, having been in F1 since 2015, Verstappen only has 24 pole positions. Being 13th on the all-time list, he is two poles ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Hamilton (103) and Schumacher (68) are again the drivers with the most pole positions. If Verstappen continues his dominant run throughout 2023’s remaining 15 races, he could end the season with 39 pole positions, with only Sebastian Vettel (65) ahead of him in third place.
Max Verstappen
• During races, F1 drivers aim to set the fastest lap. Schumacher has achieved this on 77 occasions during his career, followed by Hamilton on 62. Verstappen is tenth on the list with 24 fastest laps. With the pace he currently enjoys in his Red Bull F1 car, he could repeat the feat several times this year, possibly pulling him to 30 fastest laps and level with Nigel Mansell, perhaps even surpassing him. Verstappen would then be behind fifth-placed Vettel on 38 fastest laps.
• Though he only turns 26 at the end of September, Verstappen has already competed in 170 F1 Grands Prix. Still, he is only 32nd on the all-time list, but of the 774 drivers who participated in the sport, he is already counted among the most experienced. Alonso is the most experienced, with 363 races to his name.
• In Monaco, Verstappen became only the seventh driver to have led 2 000 laps in F1. It put him on equal footing with Mansell, but it was short-lived as the rest of the Monaco GP and the ensuing Spanish GP saw him increase the number to 2 143 laps. He is now sixth, with Alain Prost (2 683 laps) ahead of him. Hamilton (5 447 laps) and Schumacher (5 111 laps) top this table, too.