Max Verstappen leaves Lewis Hamilton in the dust ahead of Spanish Grand Prix
Max Verstappen's brutal F1 streak continues as Lewis Hamilton and co travel to Barcelona.
Max Verstappen is well on his way to usurping Formula One royalty following his victory last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver was troubled by George Russell and Lando Norris, but managed to wrestle to the 60th win of his career in less than 200 races.
The Dutchman made history by becoming the youngest driver to claim 60 wins, by a landslide. Having crossed the chequered line in Montreal at the age of 26, eight months and 11 days, he was exactly six years younger than Lewis Hamilton when the Brit recorded his 60th win.
And to rub salt in Hamilton's wounds further, it took Verstappen eight fewer races to reach the feat. Michael Schumacher is the only other driver in F1 history to win 60 times, doing so at the age of 33, and Verstappen next has the duo in his sights in the race for the most Grand Prix wins of all time.
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Hamilton leads the way with 103, 12 more than Schumacher, but time is on Verstappen’s side and he requires just 44 more to sit top of the rankings. However, Hamilton may still register more victories with Mercedes this year and Ferrari from 2025.
However, Verstappen claims that such records offer no importance to him and he simply wants to win each race and end up with as many world titles as possible. “No, I don’t think he (Hamilton) needs to look over his shoulder,” Verstappen said last year after surpassing Sebastian Vettel for third place on the all-time list. “He has achieved so much in the sport.
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"It doesn’t matter. I’ve never been interested in breaking records, because these things only happen if you are lucky enough to be in a good car for a long time. Not everyone has that luxury.
Luckily, I’ve been in a good car for two years, to win championships, but it might stop next year. You don’t know. So I’m just enjoying the moment. If, after this year, it’s not happening again, that’s what it is.”
However, close ally and Red Bull senior advisor is not so sure that Verstappen was being completely honest about his disinterest in breaking motorsport records.
“Max always says that he does not care about records, but if you ask him, for example, who has the most poles and how many those are, then he knows it right away,” Marko quipped.
And should Verstappen remain with a dominant Red Bull, despite lingering rumours that he could depart, he has more than a fair chance of surpassing Hamilton and getting the required minimum 44 race wins - having already bagged six this season.
