Where Does Max Verstappen Rank Among the Best Formula 1 Drivers?

Where Does Max Verstappen Rank Among the Best Formula 1 Drivers?

Oracle Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen, in particular, dominate Formula 1 right now. Verstappen secured the 2023 World Championship with six Grand Prix to spare and became only the fifth man in the sport’s 73-year history to win three championships on the spin. The 26-year-old Dutchman has won an incredible 15 of the 18 Grand Prix in 2023, only missing out to teammate Sergio Perez in Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and Carlos Sainz Jr. in Singapore. Verstappen’s awe-inspiring performances have led to motorsport fans calling him the greatest F1 driver of all time, but where does the flying Dutchman rank among other Formula 1 superstars in terms of outright victories?

1st: Lewis Hamilton – 103 wins

Before Oracle Red Bull Racing built the perfect F1 car and put Verstappen behind its wheel, British racing icon Lewis Hamilton was the man to beat on the track. Hamilton competed in his first Grand Prix in Australia in 2007 and has gone on to race 328 times during his long and illustrious career.

Until recently, Hamilton was the favorite with the best online Formula 1 betting sites to achieve pole position, then go on and claim the chequered flag. Why? Because Hamilton has qualified at the front of the grid in 104 of his 328 races and finished in first place 103 times. No other driver in Formula 1 history has won more than 100 races.

Although Hamilton’s best days look to be behind him – he is 38 years old now – and his Mercedes car cannot compete with the Red Bull, you cannot look past the fact the British superstar has seven World Championship titles under his belt and won every title between 2014-2020 except for 2016. Hamilton is currently the greatest F1 driver of all time, but that could easily change.

2nd: Michael Schumacher – 91 wins

Germany’s Michael Schumacher is a name synonymous with motorsport. The long-since-retired Schumacher dominated the sport in the early 2000s, winning five consecutive championships between 2000-2004, adding to the two he captured in 1994 and 1995. 

After taking off his helmet for the final time at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Schumacher had competed in 308 races, qualified in pole position 68 times, and stood atop the winner’s podium in 91 Grand Prix.

Sadly, in late December 2013, Schumacher was skiing with his then 14-year-old son Mick, who has since become an F1 driver, when he fell and hit his head on a rock. The Schumacher family maintains strict privacy about his condition, and he has not been seen in public since before his tragic accident.

3rd: Sebastian Vettel – 53 wins

Sebastian Vettel was active in Formula 1 between 2007 and 2022. Although Vettel was not challenging for honors during the latter stages of his career, there were times when he was unstoppable. Vettel clinched the World Championship four years in a row between 2010-2013 and only stopped winning titles when Lewis Hamilton burst onto the scene and made the sport his own.

Vettel is best known for his time driving for Red Bull. The German finished second in the World Championship during his first season in 2009 before becoming the world champion in each of his next four seasons. He then moved to Ferrari in 2015, but the Italian manufacturer was nowhere near as competitive as it once was, and he signed a contract with Aston Martin in 2021. 

Vettel retired in 2022, having raced 300 times, achieved 57 pole positions in qualifying, and won 53 races; he is one of only five drivers to be first across the finishing line at least 50 times.

4th: Alain Prost – 51 wins

The fact Alain Prost managed to win four World Championships during an era that saw F1 legends Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell take to the track is a testament to the Frenchman’s driving ability. Prost had a meticulous driving style that ultimately resulted in him becoming France’s first-ever world champion in 1985; Prost won the title again in 1986, 1989, and 1993.

Prost’s career spanned 11 years, and he started 199 races. The Frenchman won 51 of his 199 races, including 27 in a calendar year in 1987 and 15 of the 16 races in 1989. Amazingly, Prost’s fourth and final world championship came in 1993 when he was 38 years old.

5th: Max Verstappen – 50 wins

Fifth place is where you find the man of the moment, Max Verstappen of the Netherlands. Verstappen started his first competitive F1 race at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix and has since fought it out on the track in 181 races. Fifty of those races have resulted in victory for Verstappen, an outstanding return. 

Fifteen of Verstappen’s wins have happened during the current 2023 season, and it is highly probable he will add more before the campaign ends. Verstappen is the favorite to win in the upcoming Mexico City Grand Prix and will undoubtedly be right up there among the leaders in Sao Paulo, Las Vegas, and the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Conclusion

There is no denying that Max Verstappen is supremely talented and that he has the world at his feet. Critics argue it is easy to win Grand Prix when driving a superior car to your rivals, but Verstappen still has to go out there and get the job done.

Verstappen has the deadly combination of incredible driving skills, a dominant car and team, and an unwavering desire to win Grand Prix. That last point will drive Verstappen to the very top of the sport.

The Dutchman is only 26 years old, yet he already has 181 races behind him and three World Championships. If he continues racing for the next decade, which is likely, Verstappen should break every possible Formula 1 record, from the number of starts, qualifying in poker position, and outright victories. He is not the most fantastic F1 driver to take to the track just yet, but no Formula 1 fan or expert that does not think Verstappen is not destined to become the sport’s G.O.A.T.