When talking about the legends of the sport, Max Verstappen is always mentioned in likes of Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, and many more. Verstappen brought his team their 13th consecutive win at Spa. He has also won 8 consecutive races.
With his domination in the sport, he has been declared to be the once-in-a-generation driver. With already two World Championships, he seems to be on his way to his third.
Verstappen alongside his achievements is also known for breaking records. While he hunts down Vettel’s 9 consecutive wins, he has already broken records set by Schumacher. As of his 2023 season, he has won 10 of the first 12 races.
This makes him the only other driver to do so other than Schumacher. The Red Bull driver has also broken Hamilton’s record for most points in a season with 475 points in 2022 alone. Although only just entering his prime, he has left people speechless and amazed.
The Dutchman has also beaten Vettel’s 12-year-long record of the highest point percentage this year. After breaking McLaren’s record of 11 consecutive wins and giving his team their two Contructor’s Championships, he has yet again broken another record of one of the “legends” of the sport.
Max Verstappen equals Fernando Alonso’s record of 9 different grid slot wins
Max Verstappen has not always started a race from the pole position. Throughout his career, he has taken different grid positions and driven his car to victory. He beat Lewis Hamilton once again by surpassing his 8 starting grid positions which brought him a win. Not only that, the two-time World Champion has equaled his starting grid position with Fernando Alonso.
Alonso, who is a two-time World Champion title-holder, has his record equaled. While he drives for Aston Martin as of now, he has only managed to win a few podiums. Although, during his time at Renault he has seen himself dominate the sport. When at Renault, Alonso won the race starting from grid positions of P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P8, P11, and P15.
Max Verstappen has equalled Fernando Alonso’s long-standing record of most grid positions won from in F1 🏆
Both drivers have won from 9️⃣ different grid slots during their F1 careers. Will Max make it double figures? 🤔#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/UgLDy0Q9lt
— Autosport (@autosport) July 30, 2023
While he enjoyed holding his record for a long time, Verstappen has done what he does best yet again. After starting his race from P6 at the Belgian GP, he has equaled the number of grid positions that gave him a race win. He now has a race win from grid positions P1, P2, P3, P4, P6, P7, P9, P10, and P14.
After receiving a penalty for a gearbox mishap, Verstappen was dropped 5 positions. Although he finished his qualification in P1, he served his penalty, starting at P6. However, he moved up two places after Piastri and Sainz crashed resulting in their retirement from the race. He went on to overtake Hamilton, Perez, and Leclerc and won the race 22 seconds ahead of his teammate who finished second.