5 key moments from Verstappen's record-breaking winning streak

Joe Ellis
Monday 4 September 2023 12:27

Yep, he did it again. Max Verstappen is inevitable at the moment, and he is now in unchartered territory.

Nobody had ever won 10 consecutive races in F1 before the two-time world champion rocked up to Monza, he walks away from the 'Temple of Speed' immortal.

Even when Ferrari put up a fight on home turf, Verstappen looked to tease the Scuderia and pounce as soon as the chance arrived.

GPFans takes a look at the key moments during Verstappen's simply incredible run of form.

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The lit touchpaper

The F1 circus arrived in Miami with a championship battle as Sergio Perez won in Baku to close right in on his team-mate.

Qualifying in the Sunshine State was perhaps the moment that really lit the fire in Verstappen to start properly trying.

The Dutchman was denied the chance to go for pole due to a red flag in Q3, and that really annoyed Verstappen.

His subsequent drive to victory, breezing past pole-sitter Perez, was the start of a remarkable run nobody knew was coming.

Master of Monaco

Off the back of his Miami destruction, all manner of things could have gone wrong for Verstappen on the tight streets of Monte-Carlo.

A truly incredible final sector in qualifying saw him sneak pole on Saturday ahead of Fernando Alonso, but it was Sunday that provided the real challenge.

A sudden downpour of rain threatened to throw the entire race into chaos, but Verstappen and Red Bull stayed cool, timed the switch to intermediates perfectly and he cruised to the flag from there.

The Grand Slam

F1 arrived in Spain off the back of three Verstappen wins on the trot, but this is where the true dominance of the RB19 was revealed.

Even with a rejuvenated Mercedes nipping at his heels, Verstappen didn't give the opposition a sniff, claiming the third Grand Slam of his career.

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Grid penalty? No problem

12 months prior, Verstappen had come back from 14th on the grid to win at Spa-Francorchamps, so starting the 2023 race from sixth didn't faze him in the slightest.

Yet again, Verstappen had a way to seamlessly work his way through the field when put on the back foot, and his calm drive to the win in the Belgian GP epitomised the man himself and his surrounding team.

That was perhaps the race where any faint hope of a title fight was lost and we all accepted the inevitable.

Home comforts

The record-equalling ninth successive win was very expected at Verstappen's home race but the weather made things very spicy for him.

A lap one deluge caused bedlam in the pit lane and Verstappen exited over 10 seconds behind his team-mate, who stopped a lap earlier.

But he scythed into the gap and jumped Perez in the switch back to slicks, because he was never not going to win his home race.

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