Can anybody stop Max Verstappen? That’s a question on every F1 fan’s mind, after the Dutch driver sealed his eighth straight victory during Sunday’s Belgian GP.
It extended his lead at the top of the F1 driver’s championship to a mammoth 125 points – and Red Bull are odds-on to win another constructor’s prize once the campaign is over, after winning 13 straight races stemming back to the 2022 season.
While the F1 world heads into its summer break, it seems that time off is the only thing delaying the 25-year-old from winning three drivers’ titles on the bounce. So far this season, he’s scored an average of 24 points per race – and that’s ignoring the sprint races he says he doesn’t like!
But when can Max Verstappen win the F1 driver’s championship? What does he need to achieve it? Has anyone else wrapped up the title so quickly?
Mail Sport looks at the facts to try and explain all…
Max Verstappen romped to his eighth straight victory in the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday
It moves him closer to reclaiming the World Drivers Championship for a third consecutive year
What’s the current standing?
Max Verstappen leads on 314 points, 125 clear of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
Fernando Alonso is third on 149 points, one clear of another former Champion, Lewis Hamilton, in fourth.
Charles Leclerc and George Russell are tied fifth on 99 points each.
In the constructors’ standings, Red Bull have earned 503 points from the 12 rounds completed this term – more than double their nearest rivals Mercedes with 247.
Aston Martin (196), Ferrari (191) and McLaren (103) round out the top five.
What’s the remaining schedule?
Belgium was officially deemed Round 13 – although only 12 races have happened, with the Emilia Romagna GP axed due to flooding.
They return for the next round in Holland in the final weekend of August, for Round 14 of 23.
14. Holland August 25-27
15. Italy September 1-3
16. Singapore September 15-17
17. Japan September 22-24
18. Qatar October 06-08
19. USA (Austin) October 20-22
20. Mexico October 27-29
21. Brazil November 3-5
22. Las Vegas (USA) November 16-18
23. Abu Dhabi November 24-26
The Dutch driver could clinch it in three races time, if the right circumstances happen
His current lead of 125 points would be enough to clinch the title in Austin in October
So when can he do it?
He can theoretically do it in mid-September, just three races from now, if he continues to sweep up all the points on the board, and Sergio Perez fails to get anything on the board.
If Verstappen gets 207 points clear of the competition by the chequered flag in Singapore in mid-September, he will be crowned the world champion once again.
To replicate the feat of winning it in Japan, like he did in 2022 with four races to go, he must be 181 points clear by the end of proceedings there. While there are six races after Japan this time around, it is possible for history to strike twice.
If Max wins every race, and Sergio Perez continues to take second spot, then it is in Qatar where the Dutchman will seal his third-straight trophy. If he wants to win it in Qatar, he must be 147 points clear of Perez (or whoever is in second place).
The Dutchman’s current 125 point lead would be enough to see him secure victory in Austin, Texas, where he needs to be just 113 points clear of the pack.
For Mexico, it’s 87 points, Brazil is 53 points, and Las Vegas is 27 points.
However, it would take a remarkable surge from one of Max Verstappen’s rivals on the F1 circuit to create a final day decider at Abu Dhabi again, like we saw in 2021.
What can Max Verstappen accumulate?
Max Verstappen can finish the season on 598 points. That number is one digit smaller than it was before the Belgian GP weekend, after Lewis Hamilton’s flying circuit at the end of the race to steal the Fastest Lap prize.
Still, if the Belgian-born ace continues to pick up virtually every point available, he’ll be invincible, and making room for a third world title in as many years.
Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez is Verstappen’s closest rival, but it would be a struggle
Lewis Hamilton’s history as a former World Championship may not help him in 2023
Can anyone stop him?
Sergio Perez is in the rival Red Bull, but the Mexican faces an uphill struggle to overcome his garage buddy.
Perez can win every race and fastest lap from here on out, and still not catch Verstappen, if the Dutch driver comes in second every time.
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, third and fourth in the championship respectively, are both former World Champions, but even they will admit that their experiences lifting the trophy at the end will probably not be enough to spur on the unlikeliest of comebacks.
While McLaren looked to have turned a corner with impressive performances from Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in recent weeks, it would be tricky for either of them to catch Verstappen.
What are Max Verstappen’s other records?
In 2022, he won 15 of the 22 races, a 68.18% win record. This is the most race wins earned in a single season, although that is largely down to the higher number of GPs in a calendar year now.
It’s still the third highest percentage in history, behind Michael Schumacher in 2004 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013.
Max Verstappen’s 10 race wins so far in 2023 would put him on the list for most race wins in a single campaign – and if he wins every other race this season, he’ll finish on 83.33%, obliterating the records of the two Germans mentioned above.
He also has eight consecutive wins, which puts him second on the all-time list. He needs one more to tie Vettel’s nine-in-a-row from 2013. All eyes will be on the Dutch GP to see if that happens in front of his home fans.
Max’s 454 points in 2022 is the record for the most points ever earned in a single season, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who scored 413 in 2019, and 408 in 2018.
Verstappen secured the most race victories earned in a single season with 15 wins in 2022
The Dutch driver has been racking up historical accolades, and is set to add more on the way
What’s the record for quickest title win?
Michael Schumacher won the 2022 title with six races remaining – all the more impressive because there were 17 GPs in total. This was July 21 of that year, a record that will surely never be broken.
Verstappen is nowhere near that, unless his super fast Red Bull is also a time machine, as he would only be able to make it on September 17 – and that’s if everything goes his way in the meantime.
Nigel Mansell won with five GPs left in 1992, and Verstappen joined the list of drivers to win it with four races left, including Schumacher twice (2001 and 2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2011).
A Singapore victory for Max would make it seven races remaining, a new record, while sealing the title in Japan would equal the German’s great achievement – albeit in a season with five more races.