It is safe to say that the reigning World Champion, Max Verstappen of Red Bull is going through a monumental level of success in this ongoing season. There is no doubt that he is one of the best drivers Formula 1 has ever seen and will go down in the history of the sport. With his record-breaking streak of wins which defeated the title held by four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel, he is all set to break many more records this season, one of which is the number of laps led by F1 drivers.
Not only is he standing ahead of the grid with the number of points he has collected since the commencement of the season, the Dutchman is ready to set a new record for the maximum number of laps led with more than 661 under his name at the moment. In fact, he’s set to surpass Sebastian Vettel’s mark of 739 laps led, and he may do so as lately in the United States Grand Prix. Statistically, Verstappen holds an approximate 89% lap-led rate which is massive.
There’s eight races left in 2023, yet Max Verstappen has already led more laps this year than he did in 2022 🤯
The reigning champ is already up to fifth on the all-time list, but in which race will he make it to the top? 🤔#F1 pic.twitter.com/NgwJWwPMDE
— Autosport (@autosport) September 10, 2023
With nearly 95% of all laps scored this season, it is appropriate to draw the conclusion that Red Bull has entirely cemented their position as champion. Comparatively, only a little more than 50 laps had been accomplished by teams like Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin. However, if they want to maintain that spot, they must beat the all-time percentage record of leading 97% of race laps set by legendary drivers, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost for McLaren in 1988.
Does Max Verstappen care about records in F1?
After making Red Bull invincible with the maximum number of wins this season, interestingly, Max Verstappen has previously talked about that he is not fixated on Formula 1 records. On the contrary, he claims that he has only one goal: winning the Grand Prix and the World Championship. Nabbing the title yet another time isn’t surprising for the Dutchman as with only eight races remaining in the season, it is evident that he is taking the trophy home.
Max Verstappen breaks the Monza curse 💥🍾 pic.twitter.com/mml21qhjs2
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) September 3, 2023
Nevertheless, the team’s advisor, Helmut Marko agrees with Verstappen. He stated, “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.” According to Marko, the Milton Keynes-based team shares a similar goal, and winning the maximum number of races is a mere side quest.
Red Bull has thrown off the competition, sparking fears among rivals that they may win every race this year who tried to put a stop to it but failed miserably. As the 2023 season goes on, the records are stacking up in favor of Verstappen. The present campaign will go down as one of the greatest seasons by a single driver in the chronicles of Formula 1 history.
