Max Verstappen is establishing himself as one of the all-time greats in Formula 1. His victory at the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend was his 60th in the sport.
He’s only the third driver to achieve that feat after Michael Schumacher, who has 91 wins in total, and Lewis Hamilton, who has 103. He’s been third on the all-time wins list since passing Sebastian Vettel (53) at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen also ranks fifth for poles (39) and sixth for podiums (105). He’ll tie Fernando Alonso for fifth in the latter leaderboard when he next finishes in the top three.
There’s a strong chance that the 26-year-old will be top in all of those categories by the time he bows out in F1. Former driver Christian Danner believes the only thing that can stop him is retirement in the face of a gruelling 24-race schedule.
As for this year, Verstappen is well-placed to become the fifth driver in F1 history to win four or more titles. It briefly looked as if his streak may be under threat after Charles Leclerc won the Monaco Grand Prix to cut his lead to 31 points.
But Verstappen’s victory in Canada, combined with Leclerc’s retirement, saw him increase his advantage to 56. With 15 races to go, he now has a cushion worth more than two victories.
Max Verstappen leaves Sebastian Vettel out of all-time F1 top five
In an interview with DAZN Espana, Verstappen was asked to name the top five drivers in F1 history. He picked out two of his contemporaries in Hamilton, who’s won seven world titles, and Alonso, who has two.
He also selected Schumacher, level with Hamilton on seven championships, and Ayrton Senna, whose career was cut short by a fatal accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Senna was a triple world champion and 41-time winner at that point.
For his final slot, he went with Juan Manuel Fangio. Fangio won five world titles during the 1950s (the first decade of the official world championship), a record that stood until Schumacher came along.
Verstappen knew that his choices would spark some disagreement. After all, he left out two four-time world champions in Vettel and Alain Prost.
Verstappen competed with Vettel for seven seasons before the German retired. Prost, meanwhile, collected his championships over an eight-year span between 1985 and 1993.
“The five best drivers in F1 history?” he said. “You know what it is – whatever I choose, people will comment on, and not agree with. It’s a hard question. I would go Michael, probably Ayrton, Fernando, Lewis and Fangio.”
Verstappen picks two future world champions on current F1 grid
Having reflected on the sport’s history, Verstappen was also asked to look to the future. He named the two F1 drivers most likely to become champions.
The top candidate, in his eyes, is Ferrari driver Leclerc. The Monegasque has only won six races so far but finished as runner-up behind Verstappen in 2022 and could repeat that feat this year.
He also namechecked Lando Norris at McLaren. Norris broke his duck at the Miami Grand Prix and ‘everyone in the paddock’ regards him as one of the sport’s elite drivers.
Unlike every other driver on the list above, Verstappen has yet to race alongside a champion. He started out in F1 alongside fellow rookie Carlos Sainz at Toro Rosso, and has since faced Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
Even if he moves to Mercedes for 2026, he’s unlikely to face a fellow title-winner. He’d probably be going up against either George Russell or teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli.
One racing driver, though, has floated the possibility of him competing with Hamilton at Ferrari before the latter retires. He says combining those drivers would make Fred Vasseur ‘bigger than the Pope’.
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