Formula 1 News: Verstappen needed just 1-lap – Tost

Today is Franz Tost’s last day as head of the AlphaTauri F1 team.  He now moves into retirement. He recounts first seeing Max Verstappen drive.

“I remember Max Verstappen at the Norisring [circuit in Germany] at 16 years old in a F3 race. It was wet, and he was one and a half to two seconds faster than anyone else. I said that day all other drivers should give back their licenses, the only driver in this field is Max Verstappen.

“During his first F1 test, I was really impressed by how fast he adapted to the speed and brakes… normally drivers need 100-150km to get used to the enormous power which an F1 car has under accelerating and under braking. But from the first lap onwards he was familiar with everything on right on pace.

“We decided he would do FP1 in Suzuka [at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix] and journalists said: ‘You are totally crazy… Suzuka is one of the most dangerous tracks; how can you start him in FP1? He has to be prepared.’

“I said: ‘Don’t talk so much, let’s discuss in five years, then we will see who was right – you or me?’ It didn’t take five years – immediately, from the first lap he was on pace.”

On Tost’s retirement starting tomorrow, I can say, “OK, today is a nice day, today is powder snow, today you go skiing. I’m looking forward to that day.”

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

1.  Lewis Hamilton – 103 wins
2.  Michael Schumacher – 91 wins
3.  Max Verstappen – 54 wins (plus 7 Sprint Race wins)
4.  Sebastian Vettel – 53 wins
5.  Alain Prost – 51 wins
6.  Ayrton Senna – 41 wins
7.  Fernando Alonso – 32 wins
8.  Nigel Mansell – 31 wins
9.  Jackie Stewart – 27 wins
10.  Jim Clark – 25 wins
11.  Niki Lauda – 25 wins
12.  Juan Manuel Fangio – 24 wins
13.  Nelson Piquet – 23 wins
14.  Nico Rosberg – 23 wins
15.  Damon Hill – 22 wins
16.  Kimi Raikkonen – 21 wins
17.  Mikka Hakkinen – 20 wins
18.  Stirling Moss – 16 wins
19.  Jenson Button – 15 wins
20.  Graham Hill – 14 wins
21.  Jack Brabham – 14 wins
22.  Emerson Fittipaldi – 14 wins
23.  Alberto Ascari – 13 wins
24.  David Coulthard – 13 wins
25.  Mario Andretti – 12 wins
26.  Carlos Reutemann – 12 wins
27.  Alan Jones – 12 wins
28.  Valtteri Bottas – 10 wins
29.  Mark Webber – 9 wins
30.  Daniel Riccardo – 8 wins
31.  Sergio Pérez – 6 wins (plus 1 Sprint Race Win)
32.  Charles Leclerc – 5 wins
33.  Carlos Sainz Jr. – 2 wins
34.  Pierre Gasly – 1 win
35.  Esteban Ocon – 1 win
36.  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

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

Bold = Active Driver