Verstappen, soon to enter the elite group of 100, threatening Alonso

Seven world titles and 103 victories. The two great records in the history of Formula-1 are owned by Lewis Hamiltonthe first shared with Michael Schumacher and only the second since the Englishman surpassed the German’s 91 victories, whose strong alliance with Ferrari It was decisive in achieving legendary numbers at the beginning of the 21st century.

The dynasty later opened between Hamilton and Mercedes This allowed the Briton to rise to the F1 Olympus, but all the records that seemed inaccessible are in the spotlight as another devilish combination of a fearsome driver and team has escaped F1 with no signs of his reign with an expiration date. .. The longer his hierarchy, the greater the threat to Hamilton’s numbers.

really, Max Verstappen and red bull They currently form a tandem that is currently unattainable for other teams, so the Dutch driver can look uncomplicated at the excellent records of world. F1 has clearly shown that a dominant car is the best path to victory, especially if at the wheel is a fast and winning driver like Verstappen, who is capable of making a difference against anyone.

On this route to the historic pinnacle of his sport, Max punctuates his career with intermediate victories that gradually build up, shaping his monumental work in F1: his victory in The inaugural GP this season in Bahrain This is his 99th podium and, therefore, the Dutchman is one step away from entering the elite group of 100, where only six drivers currently reside.

Verstappen, three-time world champion (2021, 2022, 2023), will have his first chance to become a ‘centenarian’ this weekend in Saudi Arabian GPwhere he will once again be the favorite to win with the consent of his colleague Czech Perezwho won last year at the Saudi circuit.

“The team had a great first race of the season and I’m looking forward to it.” Jeddah. Last year was a good track for us, so we hope we can do something similar and put in a good performance,” Verstappen said in a Red Bull statement. The Dutchman finished second in 2023.

In fact, Max is looking for his 19th straight victory, complete since being second in the 2023 Azerbaijan GPthe other crumb that left Checo Pérez in a tremendous season for him, with 20 wins out of a possible 22 to raise his tally to 55, which is already third in history in that statistic, only behind Hamilton (103 ) and Schumacher (91).

The Dutchman (26 years old) has already surpassed 32 victories of Fernando Alonso (42) and now also threatens the Asturian’s 106 podiums, the driver with the most seasons in F1 (21) and Grand Prix contested (379).

Another fact that supports the category and the dominance used by Verstappen with Red Bull is his percentage of podiums, which is equal to the best in history: 99 podiums in 186 Grand Prix contested represent 53.23% in contrast to Alonso’s 27.97%, whose percentage is lower because he has not been with a dominant team for as many years as Verstappen, Schumacher (50.49%) or Hamilton (59.16%).

Max now has 55 victories, 28 second places and 16 third places for a total of 99 podiums. If there are no surprises, on Saturday he will be the seventh member of the 100 club.

THE SEVEN PILOTS WITH THE MOST PODIUMS IN F1

Max Verstappen (Netherlands)

99

99 podiums
186 Grand Prix
Percentage of podiums (53.23%)

6

Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)

103

103 podiums
350 Grand Prize
Percentage of podiums (​29.43%)

5

Fernando Alonso (Spain)

106

106 podiums
379 Grand Prix
Percentage of podiums (27.97%)

4

Alain Prost (France)

106

106 podiums
199 Grand Prix
Percentage of podiums (53.27%)

3

Sebastian Vettel (Germany)

122

122 podiums
299 Grand Prize
Percentage of podiums (40.80%)

2

Michael Schumacher (Germany)

155

155 podiums
307 Grand Prix
Percentage of podiums (50.49%)

1

Lewis Hamilton (England)

197

197 podiums
333 Grand Prix
Percentage of podiums (59.16%)