Max Verstappen has been on a spree of breaking records in his three-peat of F1 championships. Be it the most number of wins in a season or the most consecutive race wins, the Dutchman is topping the record lists one by one. By doing so, Verstappen has solidified his credentials in the GOAT debate against Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
The Red Bull driver has 60 Grand Prix wins to his name when he is just 26 years, 8 months, and 11 days old. In stark contrast, both Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher registered their 60th win in their 30s.
Hamilton recorded his 60th win when he was 32 years 8 months and 11 days old. Meanwhile, Schumacher reached this landmark when he was 33 years, 6 months and 5 days old.
Considering how quickly Verstappen has notched his 60th victory, he is chasing both Hamilton and Schumacher’s win tally at a rapid rate. The Red Bull champion needs 32 more wins to pass the German legend and 44 more to topple his arch-rival, Hamilton as the driver with the most race wins.
Now, the 26-year-old is much more successful relative to both seven-time champions at his age. However, another factor that is helping Verstappen break the record is the increasing number of races every season. In 2024, there are a record 24 races.
Meanwhile, a decade or two ago during Schumacher and Hamilton’s young days, there were just 17 to 19 races a year. While Verstappen seems the favorite to hold the record for the most wins in F1 in a few years’ time, two things can stop him.
2026 regulations could end Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance
2022 brought a new era of Red Bull’s dominance from the 2010s with Max Verstappen leading them. The 26-year-old went on a roll to claim a record 15 race wins in the first year of the ground effect regulations. While many considered that to be the peak of his dominance, Verstappen bettered that record with 19 wins in 2023.
However, his record-breaking dominance could all come to an end if Red Bull fail to produce a car capable of winning the championship when the regulations reset in 2026. Since the rules for 2026 focus primarily on engines, the Milton Keynes outfit are at a disadvantage with no prior experience in producing their own power units.
Meanwhile, even Ford, who will partner with Red Bull, has not competed in F1 for a while. This factor could play a massive role in limiting Verstappen’s ability to obliterate the field as he has been doing recently.
“Will Red Bull’s dominance end with its own engine?”
Max: “A difficult question. With a question mark. But in Milton Keynes, hundreds of people are working on this project, ‘Red Bull Powertrains.’ We don’t want to be caught off guard in 2026. We all hope it’ll be a rocket. We’ll… pic.twitter.com/UBDR18oiWg
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) December 10, 2023
However, all that could change if the three-time champion moves to a team that nails the regulations. Since any team will most likely welcome him with open arms, Red Bull’s potential failure to produce a strong engine is unlikely to stop Verstappen from getting back to winning ways with just one team switch.
Therefore, the only thing that will most likely stop Verstappen’s dominance is if he chooses to retire early. The 26-year-old has repeatedly stated that records do not matter to him and that he could stop competing in F1 if he does not enjoy it any longer.
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