In the eighth round of the season, Verstappen was again in a class of its own. The 25-year-old Dutchman celebrated his sixth win of the season and his 41st in Formula 1 in front of the two old masters Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen drew level with Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna. Only Englishman Hamilton (103), Germans Michael Schumacher (91) and Vettel (53) and Frenchman Alain Prost (51) have more.
“Of course I’m proud of it, but I hope that it doesn’t stop there and that we keep winning races,” said the Dutchman, who reached the Brazilian’s mark at the age of 25 – also due to a significantly higher number of races on the calendar. Senna, who died in an accident in Imola in 1994, was already 33 when he clinched his 41st victory. “You can now start naming him in one sentence with the big ones,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner about Verstappen.
Reuters/Evan Buhler Verstappen put himself on a par with the legend Senna with his win in Canada
For many observers, there is no question that Verstappen could also threaten Hamilton’s record. “He’s only 25 years old. But he has the world in his hands. Max Verstappen (…) is heading for his third title without wavering,” wrote the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo”. For “L’Equipe” there is “Max Verstappen, and there is the rest. In the lead from start to finish, the Dutch pilot takes his 41st success and draws level with a certain Ayrton Senna.” British “Sun” had seen a “victory with another smashing show of dominance”.
Im high for the home race
With his sixth success in the eighth race of the season, the double world champion further extended his leading position in the championship fight. The 25-year-old leads the overall standings with a 69-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez, who finished sixth after catching up in Canada. Verstappen is also the clear favorite for the home race in Spielberg, where he has already won the Grand Prix three times and the sprint last year. The spectacle in Upper Styria is on the program from June 30th to July 2nd and can be seen live on ORF1.
Formula 1 in Austria live on ORF1
The pinnacle of motorsport has been a guest at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg since 2014 and attracts tens of thousands of fans every year. From June 30th it will be that time again. Also live on ORF1.
In any case, Red Bull is the fifth racing team in the history of the racing series to have reached the mark of 100 Grand Prix victories. Ferrari has the most wins with 241, followed by McLaren (183), Mercedes (125) and Williams (114). “100 victories was something we never dreamed of,” said motorsport consultant Helmut Marko. At this moment, the Styrian also thought of Dietrich Mateschitz, who died last October, who once bought the Jaguar racing team and transformed it into a world champion team: “It’s a shame that he couldn’t experience it anymore.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner spoke of having entered an “elitist club” with the 100th victory. “It’s phenomenal and we’re only just getting started. We’re still young, we got our first win in 2009. Obviously we’ve achieved a lot in that time and hopefully we’ll continue like this and make another 100. It’s a milestone for the team.” He still remembers the first success clearly. He thought that if nothing else came, then at least one race had been won.
Graphics: APA/ORF; Source: formula1.com; Photos: AFP
Competition hardly comes close
In view of the current form of the double world champion and the superiority of his company car, the 200th success that Verstappen set as a goal could probably be less than 14 years away this time. Red Bull has won all eight races of the season, six of them by Verstappen, most recently he won four times in a row. “It’s likely that they’ll win all the races this year unless Aston Martin or we get a lot more power into the car or their cars fail,” said Mercedes driver Hamilton.
Although the technical improvements in the direct Red Bull pursuers in Montreal had an effect, the fact that Verstappen was only nine seconds ahead of second Fernando Alonso at the finish this time instead of 25 seconds and more as before was probably also due to the title defender’s gentle run . When the Dutchman went full throttle in the early stages, a bird who was “shot down” by Verstappen’s car paid for it with its life. “It was still stuck to my car when I got back. Didn’t look great. I feel sorry for the mechanic who had to remove that,” said Verstappen.