Always at the top, even in a ‘difficult’ period‘
Max Verstappen entered the summer break of this 2024 season on the back of four consecutive races without a win and having finished two consecutive GPs – in Hungary and Belgium – outside the podium. The first occurrence had not occurred for the Dutch superstar since 2020, the second since 2021. This is just to give an idea of how the dominance of the class of ’97 has been enormous in the last two years on the rest of the grid.
Even this year, despite this streak of races without victories and a Red Bull that no longer seems to be the best car on the track, Verstappen can enjoy the summer with a margin of advantage of absolute tranquility: with ten GPs to go, the reigning champion has 78 points to manage on his closest pursuer, Lando NorrisThree races with a full margin that currently allow the #1 orange to mathematically maintain the championship lead at least until after the Azerbaijan GP on September 15th.
Chasing Schumi
This data should not be underestimated because Verstappen, in his endless sequence of records, is approaching the reaching a record that seemed unassailable: that of the 896 consecutive days spent as World Cup leaderrecorded by Michael Schumacher between September 24, 2000, when the German Ferrari driver regained the lead of that championship by winning in Indianapolis, and March 12, 2003, when David Coulthard’s success in Australia interrupted Kaiser Schumi’s sequence of days as leader of the standings.
Verstappen has already shattered the record of GPs contested in a row by championship leadersbringing the sequence to 53 (Schumacher’s previous record was 37) but the smaller number of races that were present in the past on the calendar allowed the drivers to remain at the top of the standings for many more days without racing. The Red Bull standard-bearer cannot be overtaken before September 22, 2024, in Singapore, and this already brings him to 854 consecutive days.
Overtaking in Brazil?
The streak, which began on May 22, 2022 with the Spanish GP, could become a record at the beginning of November: in fact, the Sao Paulo Grand Prix will be held on the 3rd of the month and on that very day the 896 days will strike which would equal Schumacher’s record, automatically allowing the overtaking since the next race is scheduled 20 days later. Verstappen in this way would break the incredible barrier of 900 consecutive days as leader of the F1 World Championshipa huge number that would perhaps represent the ‘record of records’ for the orange star.
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