Max Verstappen Acknowledges Luck and Shows Humility as He Chases Ayrton Senna to Grab Historic Record

Max Verstappen is currently just one win away from matching Ayrton Senna’s record of 41 race wins in F1. While talking about achieving this incredible milestone, Verstappen admitted that luck had a huge role to play in it, particularly due to him driving a dominant car.

Verstappen burst into the scene back in 2015 when he became the youngest driver in the history of the sport. Just a year later, he won the Spanish GP in his debut race for Red Bull, making him the youngest race-winner ever. Labeled as a future world champion, Verstappen patiently waited until 2021, which was the first time he drove a car capable of challenging for the crown. He won the title in 2021, dominated the season in 2022, and is so far the strongest driver in 2023.

His last three years in F1 have seen him rack up his win count tremendously. Currently, he has 40 race wins. With just one more win, he will match the record set by Ayrton Senna. Ahead of the Canadian GP weekend, Verstappen shared his thoughts on how he felt about being up there with Senna.

Breaking Ayrton Senna’s record is incomparable, says Max Verstappen

Verstappen has been the most dominant driver this season, having won five out of seven races so far. Hence, it is widely expected that the Red Driver will win his sixth race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this Sunday. Ahead of the race, the media asked him questions related to breaking Senna’s record.

“I never really look at the number,” answered Verstappen as quoted by Motorsport Total. “People always have different kinds of careers, maybe some drivers. They get into a race-winning car sooner than others.” 

Verstappen also feels that the current era of F1 racing cannot be compared to Senna’s. Nowadays, F1 drivers have a bigger calendar, consisting of more than 20 races a year. This wasn’t the case when Senna was racing.

Verstappen never expected to achieve what he has

Verstappen made his F1 debut when he was just 17 years old, and at 25 years old, he has already achieved more than some of the biggest legends in the history of this sport. The Dutchman looks back on his success as something he could never have predicted. Today, he cannot believe that he is in the same conversation as Senna.

“When I was a little kid, I would have never imagined being in that list,” said Verstappen. “So for me, it’s definitely an amazing achievement. But you can’t compare it (to Senna).”

Currently, Verstappen has a comfortable lead at the summit of the championship standings. He has 170 points, which is 53 more than his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez‘s haul in P2. Verstappen will be hoping to stretch this lead even further at this weekend’s race in Montreal.

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• Ayrton Senna
• Max Verstappen