Twenty victories in six years, between 2015, his first year on the circuit, and December 14, 2021, the day of his first Formula 1 World Championship title. And twenty-six, since then, in twice a month. These are the maddening statistics of the RedBull pilot Max Verstappen, the double world champion, who has been driving for several months on the competition. Even more so this year, to the point of perhaps beating Sebastian Vettel’s record for the number of consecutive victories this weekend at the Monza Grand Prix. A 2013 record that he already equaled last Sunday for his national Grand Prix in Zandvoort, gleaning a ninth competitive success this year.
A transformation born of this famous December 14, 2021, and this title snatched from Lewis Hamilton in the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, since returned to legend. “We quickly understood, seeing the reactions of the media and the whole world that, ultimately, he did not obtain this title under the conditions he would have liked. After this mixed success in 2021, he could have said “what a bunch of idiots”, but no. He wanted to do better, ”says Jean-Louis Moncet, the former commentator for TF1 and Canal+, for whom he still collaborates today.
Ultra-domination and a risk of weariness
Since then, Max Verstappen has undoubtedly done much better. He won the 2022 title hands down, to become a double world champion. And soon triple? With a possible 10th victory in a row this weekend at Monza, he would come a little closer. Given the fighter plane he is piloting this season, “a quality that is found in all champions”, recalls Jean-Louis Moncet, “the osmosis between his engineers and him” and a teammate, Sergio Perez, falling short this year, Max Verstappen could set the bar for the number of consecutive victories even higher. To the point of tiring Formula 1 fans?
There has always been this kind of debate in Formula 1, recalls the former commentator. Many were fed up with the Prost / Senna battle, and today we wonder if we will ever see this kind of duel again. This debate returned when Michael Schumacher became five-time world champion, then when Vettel crushed everything for four years with RedBull. And then when Hamilton dominated for about ten years to become seven-time world champion. »
From an angry pilot to a joking champion
But for each of the examples cited, Formula 1 fans could cling to a little something: “Schumacher had his bad boy side that kept the audiences going. Hamilton brought the discipline into another area with his aura, he allowed F1 to go to the United States, it went beyond Formula 1. And Sebastian Vettel was probably one of the most secret drivers in the history, very difficult to define”, list Jean-Louis Moncet.
What can Verstappen offer to avoid jeopardizing F1’s newfound sexiness with fans and the new audience that has come to love him on Netflix? The angry driver from the beginning has given way to a friendlier champion, as Sebastiaan Van Bodegraven, a big Dutch fan of the driver, has observed since his debut in karting. “His goal was clearly to become champion, now that he has achieved it, everything is a bonus. So he doesn’t feel the pressure and just wants to win whatever he can win. He’s been a lot more relaxed since becoming a champion, and we see him being funnier, cracking jokes,” confides the man who spent 24 hours in a motorhome to reach Monza and, perhaps, attend the new record of Verstappen.
Hamilton wants to see him face adversity
“There are some who hang on their TV to see what he will still do great, and others are waiting to see him fall, continues Jean-Louis Moncet. All F1 fans like to howl like donkeys, but they still watch the Grand Prix. How many letters from readers did we receive at TF1 in which they said “we’re fed up”, while telling us all about the race? It has always been like this. »
Lewis Hamilton, visibly bitter, was “not as impressed as when Michael Schumacher was leading, when Sebastian Vettel was leading, with Kimi Raikkonen at his side or when Fernando Alonso was winning”. He would finally like to see a teammate capable of challenging his best enemy, as he himself has been in his career and which perhaps explains why he does not have this record to his credit: “Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, George Russell, Valtteri Bottas and Nico Rosberg. All of these guys have been very strong and consistent. Max has never raced against someone like that,” recalled the seven-time world champion at a press conference before Monza.
Beware of the tumble
But even Sebastiaan, and his daughter In-grid (on the starting grid for the pun), believe that such domination “could tire, of course”. “We want to see him win everything. But more track battles with the other drivers would be nice to see, as long as Max wins in the end. It’s true that Formula 1 fans who don’t like Max will still have a few more years of it,” they predict.
However, the recent history of the discipline has shown that all cycles of domination can come to a sudden end: Sebastian Vettel and RedBull had tumbled after the record of consecutive victories and the 4th World title of the German, in favor of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton for the tyranny we know. The same Lewis Hamilton who now has all the difficulty in the world to get back on a podium.