F1 News: Mika Hakkinen explains why Verstappen is the best
Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing have been the dominant duo of Formula 1 in the 2020’s. But does Max dominate just because the car and team are so good?
“I don’t think so,” says Mika Häkkinen.
“Max is something special.”
Hakkinen explains all the things Verstappen has done along with the Red Bull engineers to make the car as fast as possible.
He explains that it is not all about the car because teammate Sergio Perez cannot match Verstappen’s pace.
Verstappen is just at another level in all areas, developing his skills starting at a very young age in go-karts.
In the dry.
In the wet.
Under the hot sun
Or under the bright lights at night.
Verstappen is just unbeatable.
Tracking Verstappen’s Record Run
Destined to beat them all
At Age 26 Michael Schumacher 19 F1 wins
At Age 26 Ayrton Senna 2 F1 wins
At Age 26 Lewis Hamilton, 17 F1 wins
At Age 26 Max Verstappen 54 F1 wins + 7 Sprint Race Wins
All-time F1 Race Winners
- Lewis Hamilton – 103 wins
- Michael Schumacher – 91 wins
- Max Verstappen – 54 wins (plus 7 Sprint Race wins)
- Sebastian Vettel – 53 wins
- Alain Prost – 51 wins
- Ayrton Senna – 41 wins
- Fernando Alonso – 32 wins
- Nigel Mansell – 31 wins
- Jackie Stewart – 27 wins
- Jim Clark – 25 wins
- Niki Lauda – 25 wins
- Juan Manuel Fangio – 24 wins
- Nelson Piquet – 23 wins
- Nico Rosberg – 23 wins
- Damon Hill – 22 wins
- Kimi Raikkonen – 21 wins
- Mikka Hakkinen – 20 wins
- Stirling Moss – 16 wins
- Jenson Button – 15 wins
- Graham Hill – 14 wins
- Jack Brabham – 14 wins
- Emerson Fittipaldi – 14 wins
- Alberto Ascari – 13 wins
- David Coulthard – 13 wins
- Mario Andretti – 12 wins
- Carlos Reutemann – 12 wins
- Alan Jones – 12 wins
- Valtteri Bottas – 10 wins
- Mark Webber – 9 wins
- Daniel Riccardo – 8 wins
- Sergio Pérez – 6 wins (plus 1 Sprint Race Win)
- Charles Leclerc – 5 wins
- Carlos Sainz Jr. – 2 wins
- Pierre Gasly – 1 win
- Esteban Ocon – 1 win
- George Russell – 1 win (plus 1 Sprint Race Win)
Max Verstappen has 19 wins in 22 races this season and broke his record of 15 wins in a season set in 2022.
Hamilton is worried Verstappen will destroy all his records
Running Tally of F1 Race Wins of the two best ever – Hamilton vs. Verstappen | ||
Age | Hamilton Wins | Verstappen Wins |
18 | 0 | 1 |
19 | 0 | 3 |
20 | 0 | 5 |
21 | 0 | 8 |
22 | 4 | 10 |
23 | 9 | 20 |
24 | 11 | 31 |
25 | 14 | 48 |
26 | 17 | 54 and counting (just turned 26 years old) |
27 | 21 | TBD |
28 | 22 | TBD |
29 | 33 | TBD |
30 | 43 | TBD |
31 | 53 | TBD |
32 | 62 | TBD |
33 | 73 | TBD |
34 | 84 | TBD |
35 | 95 | TBD |
36 | 103 | TBD |
37 | 103 | TBD |
38 | 103 | TBD |
39 | 103 | TBD |
TBD: To Be Determined
In his last 49 races, Verstappen has won 38 of them….amazing consistent domination and a Red Bull team that is performing at an elite level. He has 44 wins since the start of 2021 and has scored points in the last 41 races.
2022
P1 – Imola (Sprint)
P1 – Imola
P1 – Miami
P1 – Barcelona
P3 – Monaco
P1 – Azerbaijan
P1 – Canada
P7 – Silverstone
P1 – Austria (Sprint)
P2 – Austria
P1 – Paul Ricard
P1 – Hungary
P1 – Spa
P1 – Zandvoort
P1 – Monza
P7 – Singapore
P1 – Suzuka
P1 – Austin TX
P1 – Mexico
P4 – Brazil (Sprint)
P6 – Brazil
P1 – Abu Dhabi
2023
P1 – Bahrain
P2 – Saudi Arabia
P1 – Australia
P3 – Azerbaijan (Sprint)
P2 – Azerbaijan
P1 – Miami
P1 – Monaco
P1 – Barcelona
P1 – Canada
P1 – Austria (Sprint)
P1 – Austria
P1 – England
P1 – Hungary
P1 – Belgium (Sprint)
P1 – Belgium
P1 – Zandvoort
P1 – Monza
P5 – Singapore
P1 – Suzuka
P2 – Qatar (Sprint)
P1 – Qatar
P1 – Austin (Sprint)
P1 – Austin
P1 – Mexico
P1 – Sao Paulo
P1 – Las Vegas
P1 – Abu Dhabi
Winning Percentage in a Year
Rank | Driver | Year | Wins | Winning % |
1 | Max Verstappen | 2023 | 19 of 22 | 86.36 |
2 | Albert Ascari | 1952 | 6 of 8 | 75.00 |
3 | Michael Schumacher | 2004 | 13 of 18 | 72.22 |
4 | Jim Clark | 1963 | 7 of 10 | 70.00 |
5 | Sebastian Vettel | 2013 | 13 of 19 | 68.42 |
6 | Max Verstappen | 2022 | 15 of 22 | 68.18 |
7 | Juan Fangio | 1954 | 6 of 9 | 66.67 |
8 | Lewis Hamilton | 2020 | 11 of 17 | 64.71 |
9 | Michael Schumacher | 2002 | 11 of 17 | 64.71 |
10 | Jim Clark | 1965 | 6 of 10 | 60.00 |
Bold = Active Driver
Max Verstappen, F1 Records set in 2023 | |||||
Statistic | Old Record | New Record set by Verstappen | Comment | ||
Highest Percent wins in a season | 75% by Ascari | 86.36% | Will never be beaten | ||
Most wins in a season | 15 by Verstappen | 19 | |||
Most consecutive wins | 9 by Vettel | 10 | |||
Most wins from pole in a season | 9 by both Vettel and Mansell | 12 | |||
Most consecutive wins from pole | 11 by Verstappen | 16 | |||
Most Sprint Wins in a season | 2 by Bottas | 4 | |||
Largest point gap between 1st and 2nd | 155 by Vettel over Alonso in 2013 | 290 over Perez | |||
Highest percentage points difference between first and second in championship | 48.1% by Villeneuve over Frentzen in 1997 and Mansell over Patrese in 1992 | 49.56% | |||
Most Hat Tricks (Pole, Fast Lap and Win) in a Season | 5 by both Ascari and Schumacher | 6 | |||
Most points in a season | 454 by Verstappen in 2022 | 575 | Out of a possible 620 points | ||
Most % points in a season | 84.7% by Schumacher in 2002 | 92.7% | |||
Most podiums in a season | 17 by Verstappen in 2022 | 21 | Out of 22 Races | ||
Most consecutive Top-2 finishes | 15 by Schumacher | 15 | Verstappen’s run ended in Singapore | ||
Most laps led in a season | 739 by Vettel | 1,003 | |||
Most percent laps led in a season | 71.4% by Clark | 75.7% | |||
Most pitstops by a winning driver | 6 by Button | 6 | Tied Button’s record at Dutch GP | ||
Most races left in a season before championship win | 6 by Schumacher | 6+1 day | Verstappen tied the record in Qatar but he did it on Saturday in the Sprint race before the Qatar GP ever took place so the new record is 6 races plus 1 day | ||
Most consecutive races as Championship leader | 37 by Schumacher | 39 | Verstappen will end the 2023 season upping the record to 39 | ||
Most consecutive points scored | 998 by Hamilton | 1,005 | |||
Completed every lap of the season | 1,262 by Hamilton | 1,326 | Only other drivers to do it, but in shorter seasons, were Michael Schumacher in 2002 and Lewis Hamilton in 2019 | ||
Previous F1 Records held by Max Verstappen | |||||
Record | Age | Achieved | |||
Youngest driver to start a race | 17 years, 166 days | 2015 Australian GP | |||
Youngest driver to score points | 17 years, 180 days | 2015 Malaysian GP | |||
Youngest driver to win a race | 18 years, 228 days | 2016 Spanish GP | |||
Youngest driver to score a podium | 18 years, 228 days | 2016 Spanish GP | |||
Youngest driver to lead a lap | 18 years, 228 days | 2016 Spanish GP | |||
Youngest driver to set a fastest lap | 19 years, 44 days | 2016 Brazilian GP | |||
Youngest driver to score a grand slam | 23 years, 277 days | 2021 Austrian GP | |||
Most sprint race wins | 7 | 2023 Brazilian GP |