As things stand now, Max Verstappen is well on his way to another world title.
The Red Bull racer has won three races in a row – in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona – and he has 53 points more than his nearest rival in the official drivers’ standings.
Yes-no, if F1 could be compared to a musical group, Verstappen would undoubtedly be Simon and the rest of the racers Garfunkel.
After all, the same name is always read first.
History also beckons for the 25-year-old Dutchman this weekend. If he were to race away with the laurels in Canada again, he would boast just as many race victories (41) as the legendary Ayrton Senna.
And according to Nico Rosberg, F1 fans are privileged to see a racer of Verstappen’s quality in action.
“We are experiencing something historic first hand. It’s actually an incredible performance and can be mentioned in the same breath as (Michael) Shumacher, (Lewis) Hamilton and Senna,” the former F1 champion told Sky Sports.
Verstappen has previously spoken about the possibility of an earlier retirement and according to Rosberg he understands that.
“Max started talking about it for the first time in 2021. This is the same year as his big sabre-cross session with Hamilton. Such a fiery duel is incredibly intense and it definitely takes the fun factor out of the sport.”
Rosberg believes that F1 can be unapproachable at times – especially if you are the racer who has the most to lose if things don’t quite go according to plan.
“It can be very demanding when people start to take it almost for granted that the checkered flag will wave for you with every dear race. However, I can’t put myself in Max’s shoes – he’s made enough money, while he’s already one of the best ever.”
Racers with the most race wins:
- Lewis Hamilton: 103
- Michael Schumacher: 91
- Sebastian Vettel: 53
- Alain Prost: 51
- Ayrton Senna: 41
- Max Verstappen: 40
- Fernando Alonso: 32
- Nigel Mansell: 31
- Jackie Stewart: 27
- Jim Clark and Niki Lauda: 25
