Formula One’s one of the biggest game changers, Max Verstappen, broke Lewis Hamilton’s winning streak in 2021. The great Briton was on his way to win his fifth straight title and eighth overall. But the Dutch racer denied the Mercedes superstar as he went on to win the 2021 Driver’s World Championship. That marked the end of the Silver Arrow’s hegemony. Albeit the German team won the 2021 constructor championship, they lost their grip on the title the following year. Moreover, the Dutchman became unstoppable ever since the cost cap era started. In 2022, he won 15 races, breaking the records of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, who had won 13 races in a single season. hit,
If fans thought Max could not do any better, they were wrong. Max Verstappen went on to break his own record in the previous season. He won an incredible 19 Grands Prix in 2023. It seemed like his streak of consecutive points scored would not come to an end anytime soon. However, things have not been great in the Red Bull camp lately. And it even got worse as the Dutch racer had his first DNF in two years. The failure of the Australian Grand Prix prevented Max from achieving many milestones he could have.
DNF In Melbourne Didn’t Let Max Verstappen Break Lewis Hamilton’s Record
The current triple-time champion was on his way to win his third race this year. Max Verstappen really dominated the first two GPs in 2024. Red Bull had back-to-back two one-two finishes this ongoing season. However, in Australia, it was Ferrari who had a one-two finish. Carlos Sainz Jr. won his second race in two years. Even last year, the Spaniard was the only non-Red Bull racer to win a race. On the other hand, Max Verstappen had a shocking DNF in Melbourne. He did not have to face a reliability issue with the Red Bull car in the last two years. However, since he did in Australia last weekend, he missed out on the chance of breaking a pretty famous Lewis Hamilton record.
It was the record for the most consecutive points finishes that belongs to Lewis Hamilton (48). On the other hand, Max Verstappen had not failed to finish a race in 44 GPs. He won most of those many races. Moreover, in the last 43 races, he finished with points. But the Australian Grand Prix in 2024 saw that incredible streak of Verstappen come to an end. If it had not been for the brakes that were given out in Albert Park, Max Verstappen could have broken Hamilton’s record in Monaco this season. However, now Max will have to start again from scratch if he’s looking for another such streak.
Max Couldn’t Win Another Ten Races Back-To-Back
Last year, Verstappen broke Sebastian Vettel’s record for most consecutive race wins. The German great had won nine races in a row in 2013. Max Verstappen went on to win ten races on the trot in 2023. Carlos Sainz Jr. broke the Dutchman’s winning streak in Singapore last year.
Later, after the failure of the Singaporean GP, Max went on to win another nine races in a row. He could have another ten-race winning streak. But it was, again, the Spaniard driver of Ferrari who interestingly broke Verstappen’s streak. The Dutch racer has won nine races in a row twice. No way, it is an easy thing to do. But Max did make it look easy.
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