Red Bull Motorsports
F1
Max Verstappen: the records rewriting F1 history
The three-time Formula One drivers' world champion has been rewriting F1 history from the moment he stepped into the paddock at age 17. This is Max Verstappen's record-breaking career.
Part of this story
With second place in the Sprint Race at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen sealed his third World Championship in a row. This season has been dominated by the brilliant young Dutchman who has also taken a record number of consecutive wins in F1.
For the record, Verstappen is also now third on the all-time list of Grand Prix winners, level with Sebastian Vettel on 53 with only Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton ahead of him. And more records are tumbling in 2023, so let's run through the records making him the talent of his generation and the hottest property in motorsport…
Max Verstappen lines up for Toro Rosso in Malaysia
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
01
Youngest driver to take part in an F1 race weekend
- Age: 17 and three days
- Location: 2014 Japanese Grand Prix
With the ink barely dry on his Red Bull Junior Team contract, Verstappen made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso – now Scuderia AlphaTauri – replacing Jean-Éric Vergne to drive in Free Practice at Suzuka on the first day of the Japanese Grand Prix. The oldest F1 driver of all time is Louis Chiron, who was 55 years and 291 days when he raced in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix, so Max has almost exactly 30 years to go if he wants to break this one.
02
Youngest driver to race in F1
- Age: 17 and 166 days
- Location: 2015 Australian Grand Prix
As half of an exciting new pairing at Toro Rosso with Carlos Sainz, Verstappen made his F1 debut at Albert Park in Melbourne, becoming the youngest driver to have ever lined up on the F1 grid. He was almost two years younger than Jaime Alguesuari had been when he set the previous record. What's more, the record will stand in perpetuity because the minimum age to race in F1 is now 18 years old.
Verstappen made an excellent debut on the street circuit, qualifying 11th and even running in the points before suffering an engine failure. He didn't have to wait long for another try.
Max Verstappen conquers Sepang
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
03
Youngest driver to score points in F1
- Age: 17 and 180 days
- Location: 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix
Two weeks later, Verstappen qualified in sixth place at Sepang, behind Red Bull Racing's Daniil Kvyat (P5) and Daniel Ricciardo (P4), becoming the youngest driver to reach Q3. He went on to finish seventh, but ahead of both Red Bulls and his team-mate. He was now also the youngest driver to finish an F1 Grand Prix. On the podium, Sebastian Vettel celebrated his first win for Ferrari.
Max Verstappen takes his first win in F1
© David Ramos/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
04
Youngest F1 race winner
- Age: 18 and 228 days
- Location: 2016 Spanish Grand Prix
On May 15, 2016, Max set a handful of records in F1, becoming the youngest driver to lead a race and, about an hour later, the youngest-ever race winner and youngest driver to stand on an F1 podium – not a bad day's work.
It's easy to overlook that Verstappen had swapped teams, replacing the under-pressure Daniil Kvyat and taking the start in a totally unfamiliar car. While both front-running Mercedes cars were out of the race, he still had to take the lead and hold off two charging Ferraris on his way to the finish line. The previous record holder, Sebastian Vettel, was the first to congratulate him on the podium.
Verstappen celebrates with the team after the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
05
Youngest driver to set a fastest lap
- Age: 19 and 44 days
- Location: 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix
This record is more of a footnote in a race performance that was almost career-defining in its brilliance. If the world hadn't recognised Max Verstappen as F1's most exciting new driver by now, it did after his drive from P16 up to third place in just 14 laps during pouring rain at Interlagos in São Paulo.
Max plays to the crowd at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2021
© Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool
06
Youngest driver to score an F1 grand slam
- Age: 23 and 277 days
- Location: 2021 Austrian Grand Prix
With his first realistic chance of an F1 world championship title in his sights, Verstappen arrived in Spielberg, Austria, for a double-header at the Red Bull Ring. Having won the Styrian Grand Prix the previous weekend, he produced his most dominant performance to date and set a Grand Slam – or Grand Chelem – by taking pole, fastest lap and victory while leading every lap of the race.
1 min
Max Makes It A Double!
Congratulations to our two-time World Champ!
07
Most podium finishes in an F1 season
- Location: 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix
- New record: 20 podiums
- Previous record: 18 (Max Verstappen 2021)
A theme starts to develop in that Max is now breaking his own records. Amid the drama of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max set a new record for podiums in a single F1 season – although the World Championship did get more attention. With 18 podiums, he went one better than both Michael Schumacher (2002) and Sebastian Vettel (2013). In 2023, he's already on 19 having finished off the podium at just one Grand Prix, Singapore, and looks likely to extend the record even further. Verstappen got his 100th career podium finish at the Saudi Grand Prix in 2024.
Max Verstappen: Records set by the 2022 Formula 1 World Champion
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
08
Most World Championship points in a season
- Location: 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix
- New record: 549 points
- Previous record: 454 points (Max Verstappen 2022)
After winning his first world title, the floodgates were opened. In 2022, Verstappen strung together victory after victory to wrap up his second F1 title in Japan – four races before the end of the season. By then, he'd already broken Lewis Hamilton's record for most points in an F1 season with a comfortable win at the Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit in Mexico City. In 2023, such is his dominance, he's blasted past the record and still has one more race to pile on more points.
Max and Jos Verstappen
© Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
09
Most wins in an F1 season
- Location: 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix
- New record: 18 wins
- Previous record: 15 (Max Verstappen 2022)
In Las Vegas, Max Verstappen extended yet another of his records as he claimed the most wins in a single F1 campaign. The previous year he eclipsed the 13 of Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013) to move to 15, and while it won't be on his mind in Abu Dhabi, the champion could make it a staggering 19 wins.
The team celebrate Max's ninth win
© Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
10
Most consecutive race wins
- Location: 2023 Italian Grand Prix
- Previous record holder: 9 (Sebastian Vettel 2013)
Having matched the record of nine wins in the pouring rain at his home Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Verstappen went one better with victory at Monza, Italy. It was his 10th race win in a row and brought him to the brink of a third consecutive world title.
11
Highest percentage of wins in a season
- Location: 2023 São Paulo Grand Prix
- New record: 77.27 percent
- Previous record holder: 75 percent (Alberto Ascari 1952)
Max Verstappen breaks Ascari's record at the Sao Paulo F1 Grand Prix
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen smashed another record at Interlagos, which many thought was unbreakable: Alberto Ascari’s win percentage, which had stood for 75 years. This was no reflection on Max’s ability, it’s just that when Ascari did it, the season only lasted for eight races (he won six). After São Paulo, the record was in the bag and heading to Abu Dhabi, Verstappen boasts 18 wins from 20 – or a 90 percent win record.
More stories about Max Verstappen
12
Most consecutive points scored in F1
- Location: 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix
- New record: 1055 points
- Previous record holder: Lewis Hamilton (1008 points)
The start of the 2024 Formula One season brought yet another record for Verstappen as he secured victory in the opening race in Bahrain. The reigning world champion would also secure the fastest lap, earning 26 points from the race. That meant the Dutch driver had amassed 1030 consecutive points and overtaken the previous record held by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
The point-scoring run stretches back to the Emilia-Romana GP in 2022 and was further extended at the second race of the 2024 season when Verstappen claimed victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The new record now stands at 1055 points and has lasted 43 races.
Max Verstappen matches Senna's record of 8 pole positions in a row at Imola
© Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
13
Most consecutive pole positions
- Location: 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
- Joint record: 8 pole positions
- Joint record holder: Ayrton Senna
Verstappen matched the legendary Ayrton Senna's 35-year-old record of eight consecutive pole positions at the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. His run started with P1 in the final race of 2023 at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi and ended on pole at Imola in Italy. It was almost as if it was scripted, as this was on the same circuit where Senna was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. "It's 30 years since he passed away, so it's very special and I'm very pleased to get pole. In a way it’s a nice memory to him,” said Verstappen. “He was an incredible F1 driver.” For the record, Senna's run began at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez in 1988 and ended at the U.S. Grand Prix in Phoenix in 1989.
Part of this story
