Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher’s winning record is increasingly shaky after Max Verstappen won his fifth race in a row in Italy
Max Verstappen is on course to break the record for most grand prix wins in a season on his way to his second consecutive Formula One world championship. At Monza, the Red Bull driver celebrated his fifth win in a row and his eleventh success overall in the 2022 season.
The record for the most wins in a season is currently held by the two German drivers Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher.
With six races left in the season, this record should be achievable for Verstappen, especially as the Red Bull is currently the measure of all things. With his 31st Formula 1 victory in Monza, Verstappen has also drawn level with Nigel Mansell in the perpetual statistics. His next victory would see him catch Fernando Alonso.
Almost more amazingly, since the fourth race of the season in Imola, Verstappen has scored 310 out of a possible 354 points in 13 race weekends. This means that only 44 points have slipped through the Dutchman’s fingers since mid-April. In comparison, his World Championship rival Charles Leclerc has only 148 points since the weekend in Emilia-Romagna.
Verstappen: Car now works on every track
Speaking about his great run, Verstappen says: “It’s amazing of course what we’re experiencing within the team, we’re having a great year. And it’s important to enjoy it as well. I think we’ve had a lot of different challenges on different tracks, but now the car really seems to work on every track.”
Asked if he has ever been on such a wave of success, the Red Bull driver replied, “Yes, my last year in karting. But it’s very different in terms of feelings. At that time, Formula 1 is your goal. “
“You enjoy what you achieve, of course, but you also think it’s still a long way to go. So you get a bit different excitement and feel different. But the last year in go-karts was also nice,” Verstappen said. In his last year of karting, 2013, he won six out of the eight championships he competed in.
“Very good” start was basis for Monza win
At Monza, he laid the foundation for his victory at the start after the Red Bull driver was handed a five-place grid penalty as a result of an engine change, meaning he had to start the race from seventh place.
On new soft tyres, he was already in third place after the first lap before catching George Russell for second and eventually closing in on race leader Charles Leclerc.
“The start was very good,” Verstappen agrees. “I had a clean first chicane and then I was able to get back into my rhythm quickly and finish second. The tyres were really good and it was really fun to drive today. “
Verstappen sure Red Bull’s set-up poker paid off
But it wasn’t just at the start of the race that Verstappen seemed to have been in a class of his own, but also in his performance during the race: “We had a great race. On every compound we were the fastest and the tyre wear was also very good. So we had a really good race car. In the end, I was able to control the gap,” he analyses.
The main reason for the strong race pace, according to Verstappen, was Red Bull’s decision to run with a large rear wing at Monza, unlike the competition, which made tyre management easier and allowed Verstappen to gain more time in the corners.
“Today it was very hot and we were able to take really good care of our tyres,” said the race winner. “Of course, it also helped a lot that I had a great first lap and was able to overtake most of the cars before they got into a DRS move. From then on, both sets of tyres felt great and I was able to extend the first stint a bit. And everything worked really well on the mediums as well. “
