Does Max Verstappen have the best podium percentage in a single season in F1 history? All you need to know

While Max Verstappen is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers of the modern Formula 1 era, his achievements in recent years have made people compare him to legends from different eras. Particularly, his feat in the 2023 season, where he finished on the podium in 21 of the 22 races held, has often stirred conversations about whether he boasts the best podium percentage in an F1 season.

The 2023 campaign, which witnessed Verstappen record his third consecutive drivers’ championship with the Red Bull Racing outfit, saw the driver win a staggering 19 races and finish on the podium 21 times, but is that the best podium percentage finish in a season? While the 27-year-old’s feat remains indeed staggering, the honor of the most podium finishes in an F1 season belongs to Michael Schumacher.

In the 2002 season, the German racing icon finished on the podium in every one of the 17 races held throughout the year. Schumacher, who clinched his fifth world title in that campaign, recorded 11 race victories, five second-place finishes, and a third-place at the Malaysia Grand Prix.

The record of the then Scuderia Ferrari driver came within touching distance by Max Verstappen in the 2023 season until that outing at the Singapore Grand Prix, where he could only muster a fifth-place finish. Verstappen, however, boasts the record of the most race wins in an F1 season, 19, which he achieved during his historic 2023 campaign.

Max Verstappen not the best of all time, says Jacques Villeneuve

Former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve earlier weighed in on Max Verstappen being compared to the greatest drivers in sports history. The 1997 world champion, who spoke in a recent interview with RacingNews365, highlighted a few reasons why he doesn't compare the 27-year-old to the greatest.

The 54-year-old explained why the current crop of drivers on the grid makes Max Verstappen a little more exceptional.

“If you look at the past, in Ayrton Senna and [Alain] Prost’s era, you had five drivers like Max [Verstappen] every year. Now you only have Max, so the playing field is… Now there are a lot of good drivers, where before there were a few extremely good drivers and a bunch of good drivers. So, I think the whole scheme has changed.”

“Max is not better than the very good ones of the past,” Villeneuve stated. “He’s alone right now, so he stands out. He makes the difference.“He is a pure racer, and there aren’t many of them anymore…”

Through Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 career, which started in 2015, the Dutch driver has largely rewritten several long-standing records in the sport's history books. The four-time champion also ranks third on the list of drivers with the most race victories, with 65 wins, behind Lewis Hamilton (1st) and Michael Schumacher (2nd).