formula 1
One more than Vettel: Verstappen wants his 54th career victory
Max Verstappen has won 18 of the 21 races so far this year. photo
© Kamran Jebreili/AP/dpa
Max Verstappen has had a season of superlatives. The rest is more like silence for some people. Just like the superstar of the premier class, for whom VIPs and fans stand in line in Abu Dhabi.
The last 306,183 racing kilometers of the Formula 1 year 2023 are coming up. That it The fact that Max Verstappen could have successfully competed with Mercedes or Ferrari for the constructors’ title this year says almost everything about the season.
In Abu Dhabi, where the turning point was initiated at the controversial and dramatic World Cup final two years ago, the Dutchman can overtake Sebastian Vettel in the all-time winners list. With the pole he has already positioned himself perfectly.
The winner in a league of his own
Verstappen has won 18 of the 21 races so far this year and has a total of 53 Grand Prix successes. Ex-driver Sebastian Vettel managed just as many in his entire career before retiring just under a year ago. If Verstappen also wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this Sunday (2 p.m. CET/Sky), he will be third in the ranking of the drivers with the most victories. Only Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton (103) and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher (91), like the Brit, were even more successful.
For Red Bull it could be the 21st victory in the 22nd race this year. Sergio Pérez managed two more for the team, who also secured second place in the World Cup rankings behind Verstappen last Sunday.
The team is already constructors’ world champions. Only once this year was someone else able to win: Carlos Sainz from Ferrari in Singapore. “Let the trumpets sound,” wrote La Repubblica afterwards.
The last chance for Mercedes
Hamilton has been waiting for a win for two years, while teammate George Russell has been waiting for a win for over a year. Since the drama finale in Abu Dhabi 2021, Mercedes has been chasing Red Bull. The concept of the car was changed again this season and personnel were changed. Hope appeared here and there. But there were always almost inexplicable setbacks for those responsible.
At the end, things don’t work out again, especially with Hamilton. The 38-year-old Formula 1 superstar, for whom the fans and VIPs in the paddock stand in line when he walks the few meters from the team accommodation into the garage, didn’t even make it into the top ten of the qualification. If there was any hope of his first victory since December 5, 2021 in Saudi Arabia, it should be gone with eleventh starting position and Verstappen once again outstanding.
Since the Silver Arrows’ return to the season, they have only gone twice without a single Grand Prix victory per season. That was in the development years of 2010 and 2011. This was followed by 116 victories to date. It remains to be doubted whether the 117th in the new Mercedes era will work this year. Team boss Toto Wolff said at one of the lowest points this year: “This car doesn’t deserve a win.” There is nothing more than a fight for second place in the team standings – but Ferrari is only four points behind.