Long Way to Go Till Lewis Hamilton’s 103 Wins & 7 WDCs, Max Verstappen Deemed to Claim the F1 GOAT Title Provided One Crucial Factor

While others break a ton of sweat, Max Verstappen makes racing look like a walk in the park. He skillfully carves through the field at incredible speeds and pulls off mega drives with apparent ease. In the same manner, the 25-year-old took home two world championships and is already on his way to his third. Still, he’s a long way off from the two biggest records in Formula 1–the 103 wins held by Lewis Hamilton and seven Drivers Championships jointly owned by Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. Can he break them? 

In 2022, Verstappen managed to do more than any other driver has ever done in a single calendar year. He made headlines, broke many records, and, more importantly, stayed at the very top. And now, with the pace at which he’s going this year, it looks like the Dutchman’s dominance will continue for years. Verstappen also equaled Sebastian Vettel’s record of 38 F1 victories for Red Bull after winning the Miami GP. But he’s still 60-odd wins away from beating Lewis Hamilton on stats. However, with Verstappen staying at Red Bull until the end of 2028 and Red Bull currently far ahead of their rivals, Eddie Jordan thinks the Dutch driver could be the greatest of all time.

Speaking on the ‘Formula For Success’ podcast, the former F1 team principal said, “I truly believe Max will become the greatest driver of all time over time, provided he is safe and well for a very long time, of course. He has an extraordinary attitude in the car. Aggressive when he needs to be aggressive, tough when he needs to be tough but also smart, he knows how to treat the car.” But it is important for Red Bull to stay strong until their driver sets the new record. So Jordan added, “Another thing in his favor is that he has to hope the team stays as strong as it has been – especially after the death of Red Bull’s Dietrich Mateschitz.”

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However, there’s no need to worry about Red Bull’s performance, as they’re only getting stronger race by race. Without serious competition further in the season, Red Bull might as well win every race in the 2023 season.

The battle to be the ‘Best of the rest’

Despite still being in the early stages of the 2023 Formula 1 season, it is blatantly clear that no team is capable of competing with the Red Bulls. Such is the advantage of their RB19 over the rest of the field. But behind the Bulls, a fascinating battle is unfolding between the chasing pack, which consists of the Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin. So the fight for second in the Constructors standings is still tight. Soon we might know who is the best of them.

Aston Martin and Mercedes are currently engaged in a competitive rivalry. But things could very well change in the coming races. Because around this period of the season, teams start to bring in more impactful upgrades to their cars, which usually makes quite the difference. Not having both drivers perform at a similar level is another factor that can put Aston Martin behind Mercedes in addition to the upgrades. In addition to the upgrades, one thing that could put Aston Martin behind Mercedes is not having both drivers performing at a similar level. This season, Fernando Alonso has been among the best drivers in every race. But his teammate Lance Stroll has slowed down after a great start. This has allowed Mercedes to close the gap to Aston Martin in the standings. Despite the W14 lacking in performance compared to the AMR23.

So it’ll be interesting to see how teams implement their upgrade package at Imola and take control of second place in the constructor battle going forward. 

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According to you, which team will take second place in the Constructors Championship by the end of the 2023 season?