Since May, no one can stop Max Verstappen. The reigning double world champion won his seventh consecutive Grand Prix in the space of two months on Sunday 23 July in Hungary, his ninth in eleven races since the start of the 2023 season. In the drivers’ standings, the Red Bull driver is now 110 points clear of his runner-up and team-mate in the Austrian team, Sergio Pérez, who finished third behind Lando Norris (McLaren) on Sunday.
Unperturbed, Max Verstappen remains so in all circumstances, whether he starts from pole or not. The day before the start, on the Hungaroring circuit, it was Lewis Hamilton who set the fastest time in qualifying, ahead of the Dutchman. The British Mercedes driver then scored the 104th pole position of his career, the first since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in December 2021.
Starting from first position on the circuit where he has won the most – eight wins, such as at the British Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton knew he could upset the reigning double world champion’s plans. But it is clear that the Mercedes driver has lost the habit of starting in the lead: within three corners, Lewis Hamilton found himself fourth, overtaken by Max Verstappen and the two McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Despite the British team’s return to form in recent weeks, Piastri and Norris have never been able to match Verstappen. In the opening lap, the Frenchmen Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were even more unlucky than Lewis Hamilton and his failed start. The two Alpini had to retire after a contact between Guanyu Zhou and Daniel Ricciardo which took away Ocon’s car, the latter hitting and damaging that of his team mate.
The streak record in sight
“Things don’t line up for us. We will have to quickly stop this series of events that are happening to us right now., Pierre Gasly reacted to the microphones of Canal +, as the race continued on the Hungaroring. Not spared from mechanical problems and racing events in recent weeks, the Alpine team sees McLaren, who scored 28 points on Sunday thanks to Norris (2nd) and Piastri (5th), climb to fifth in the constructors’ standings, 40 points clear.
At the top of this ranking is Red Bull, who have won all eleven races this season and the last twelve Formula 1 Grands Prix, a record. Thanks above all to Max Verstappen who is now seven consecutive victories and can predict, given his performances and those of his opponents, to equal Sebastien Vettel’s record of nine consecutive victories, which dates back to the 2013 season.
The Dutchman will try to get close to it next week, during the Belgian Grand Prix. A race that he masters perfectly having won us in 2021 and 2022. In the event of success on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the two-time world champion will have to let the summer break pass to try to equal the record at home, in Holland at the end of August. At that point his opponents may have found solutions, or drawn from the few weeks of rest the hope of being able to compete again with him.