After two titles, how does Max Verstappen compare to the F1 legends?

This has surely not escaped you, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) became a double world champion Formula 1 under the clouds of Suzuka (Japan) on Sunday October 9. The Dutchman equals legendary names in this sport like Jim Clark, Alberto Ascari, Fernando Alonso or Mika Häkkinen.

In total, the Red Bull protégé joins six other drivers with two world titles. Max Verstappen still remains far from the three crowns of Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda, ​​Jack Brabham and Jackie Stewart, from the four titles ofAlain Prost et Sebastian Vettel, the five awards of Juan Manuel Fangio and the record holders Michael Schumacher et Lewis Hamilton (7)

⭐️⭐️ pic.twitter.com/u00RL9Kh8A

- Max Verstappen (@ Max33Verstappen) October 10, 2022

If we list these titles, it is to better set the scene. Is the precocity with which Max Verstappen arrived in F1, in 2015 at the age of 17 years and 166 days, still appropriate on the evening of his second world title?

1. Participations in Grand Prix

Max Verstappen competed in many more Grands Prix than all the legends mentioned above before winning a second title (159 GP). The prize for efficiency goes to Michael Schumacher, who only competed in 67 races before being doubly crowned in 1995. Sebastian Vettel waited 77 races until sealing his crown on the same circuit as Max Verstappen, at Suzuka in the fall of 2011.

Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull RB7 at Suzuka in 2011. © FREDERIC LE FLOC'H / DPPI

However, the number of participations in Grands Prix is ​​a hazardous data to take into account due to the evolution of the calendars. In the 1980s and until the beginning of the 2000s, an F1 season consisted of a maximum of 17 rounds, and revolved around 15 to 16 meetings. However, since the second half of the 2010s, organizers have pushed the walls to happily exceed the milestone of 20 trips per year (22 in 2021 and 2022, 23 in 2023).

2. The number of seasons in F1

This statistic may shed new light on Max Verstappen's career compared to his glorious peers. The native of the Flemish region had to champ at the bit for 7 full years before enjoying the champagne promised to No. 1, just like Alain Prost (1986) and Ayrton Senna (1990), one year younger than Lewis Hamilton (8, between 2007 and 2014). Max Verstappen started modestly, at Team Toro Rosso in 2015, before quickly jumping into a Red Bull seat in May 2016.

Michael Schumacher moved on more quickly, with 4 and a half years in F1 before securing a second title in 1995. Same time frame for Sebastian Vettel in 2011. After 5 full years in F1, Nelson Piquet became double world champion.

N. Piquet in Kyalami in 1983 with Brabham. © DPPI

Finally, if he is not the youngest double F1 world champion (25 years and 9 days compared to 24 years and 98 for Sebastian Vettel), Max Verstappen is better than Fernando Alonso by almost two months. He beats Michael Schumacher by 1 year, 9 months and 10 days and Lewis Hamilton by 4 years 10 months and 7 days.

Thus, Max Verstappen seems to be in the passing times of the legends of his sport. Already with 32 Grand Prix victories, Max Verstappen has equaled the number of successes of Fernando Alonso while the Dutchman seems set to embody F1 for many years, even decades. The person concerned nevertheless refused to draw parallels with the past glories of his profession when he had equaled the number of victories of Jim Clark and Niki Lauda at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix. We also do more races per year, so if you have a good car it's not really comparable, but it's good for the history books. »

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