The current F1 year clearly belongs to Max Verstappen and Red Bull. He has won three back-to-back titles since 2021 and has been dominating the grid like no other driver in history. The Red Bull driver has won 39 races since 2021 and also broke the record for most wins in a season last year, winning 15 races. On top of that, the Dutchman became three-time champions with five more races to go in 2023. Moreover, he has won ten pole positions this year and 30 pole positions in his F1 career. Clearly, there is no stopping the force of Max Verstappen.
Red Bull has given the 25-year-old driver the fastest car on the grid, and Max is using it to its fullest. Besides the Singaporean Grand Prix, Red Bull has won all the races this year so far. Of all the races in 2023 so far, Sergio Perez has won twice, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. has won only once, but the rest belongs to Max Verstappen. That’s how dominating he has been, and the three-time champion has a chance to break his own record of 15 wins in a season. He achieved that record last year. But there are plenty more records that Max broke this year.
Max Verstappen Joins The Elite Club Of The Three-Time F1 Champions
For instance, the record for most consecutive race wins belonged to former Red Bull champion Sebastian Vettel until this year. Max Verstappen won ten in a row in 2023 to break Vettel’s nine GP wins in a row back in 2013. Hence, Max broke a ten-year-old record this year. Moreover, after winning the three titles, Max Verstappen mentioned that the 2023 championship is his favorite among his three titles. A handful of F1 drivers will have achieved what Max has after the current season. Recently, the Dutchman entered the elite club of three-time champions.
The old members of this elite club are Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, and Ayrton Senna. Moreover, the moment that assured Verstappen’s third title was when Sergio Perez crashed out on Lap 10 of the sprint race of the Qatar Grand Prix. The Dutchman did not even need to finish the sprint race to secure the third championship. However, if joining the elite club was not enough, Max Verstappen went on to break or extend many records that he could in the Qatar Grand Prix.
Other Accomplishments Of The Dutchman So Far
For instance, the Dutchman has broken yet another Vettel’s record of leading in most laps in a single season. At present, it is 739, but still five races are remaining in 2023. On top of that, he is enjoying the longest streak of winning races when starting from the pole, with 14 race wins. Adding to that, Max Verstappen has scored points in 36 races in a row. That is the second-longest streak in history. Only Lewis Hamilton has won in 31 different race tracks.
But then the Dutchman has won in 24 different race circuits. Currently, Max is leading the championship with over 200 points lead. The record for the biggest margin of winning a title belonged to Sebastian Vettel. Previously, Vettel had the record of 155 points. Hence, Max can easily break that record at the end of the current season.