“The road to the three-time championship seems paved for him”: why Verstappen dominates F1 and goes for more records

The first half of the season has been contested with great emotion, and now, with a break of more than three weeks to come, the focus is on Max Verstappen’s rear-view mirrors. After 11 rounds played, the two-time champion leads with an impressive 110-point advantage over his closest rival, Checo Pérez. This represents a significant 64% more drives compared to the same stage of the championship in 2022, when Max was just 38 points clear of second-placed Leclerc.

Verstappen’s performance has been outstanding this year, with seven consecutive victories out of the nine obtained in 2023, seven pole positions, 6 fastest laps and an outstanding presence on all the podiums of the year. The road to the three-time championship seems paved for him, proving to be an imposing and crushing reality in Formula 1.

If we eliminate Verstappen’s positions in each race this year, Checo Pérez would lead the standings with 27 points over Fernando Alonso and 33 over Lewis Hamilton. A tight tournament that, with an abandonment of the leader, would be adjusted to the minimum. This demystifies the idea that Verstappen’s beating is simply due to Red Bull’s superiority. Checo, occupying second place in the standings, has had problems in three Q1 and three Q2. Each mistake by the Mexican further exalts the greatness of Max, becoming the food to build his legend.

If we add up all the race time differences Max has won by this year, the cumulative would be an impressive minute, 54 seconds. Enough time to lead in the Monte Carlo GP, make a pit stop, see all of his rivals go for a lap and still come out in first place. This forcefulness is supported by the statements of Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing sports advisor, who after Verstappen’s victory in Hungary by more than 33 seconds, stated without hesitation that Max was not even close to the limit and that he could have won by the double.

With the championship all but secured, Max Verstappen is now aiming to break records. With seven wins to go from eleven rounds, he has a chance to surpass his own record for most wins in a season. If he wins the next three races, including today’s in Belgium, he would also break the record for most consecutive wins, set by Vettel in 2013. Furthermore, if he increases his lead over Pérez from 110 to 156 points, he will become the crown driver with the largest point advantage over the runner-up. Being on all the podiums and obtaining trophies in 8 of the next eleven races would make him the man with the most trophies in a year since Schumacher in 2002. The most immediate and complicated challenge is that of pole positions; to be the best poleman in a season, he will need to add 9 pole positions in the next rounds with an 82% effectiveness. A challenging challenge, but perhaps it is the necessary motivation to wake up with enthusiasm and put on the antiflame, not only to dominate in the races on Sundays, but also to expand the use of him on Saturdays on the starting grid.