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Max Verstappen has been smashing F1 records ever since he made his debut in the sport back in 2015. In fact, the driver broke a record the first time he entered a Formula 1 car. Let's take a look.
With the two-time world champion now well on his way to a third consecutive title, it makes sense to look at the Dutchman's history in the sport. To start off with, at 17 years and 166 days, the driver became the youngest person to ever debut in F1 at the 2015 Australian GP. While he was en route to scoring his first points with Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) in the race, he was forced to retire due to an engine issue.
Max Verstappen is also the youngest driver to ever make it into the third session of qualifying (Q3). The Dutchman dragged his Toro Rosso into Q3 just two weeks after his debut race in Australia, impressing the F1 world.
On the Sunday following his first Q3 appearance, Verstappen became the youngest driver to score points, finishing P7 in Sepang at 17 years and 180 days.
And on what was probably the best debut for a new team anyone could wish for, the driver became the youngest race winner in the sport, winning the 2016 Spanish GP at just 18 years and 228 days old. The Dutchman also broke the record for the youngest driver to lead a GP on the same day.
The Red Bull driver also became the youngest driver to appear on the podium with his stellar performance in Spain that afternoon in 2016.
Max Verstappen's record list continues
Max Verstappen also became the youngest driver to set the fastest lap in a Grand Prix, winning the accolade at the 2016 Brazilian GP in rainy conditions.
The now-two-time world champion also became the driver with the most overtakes in a single season in 2016 with 78 total overtakes. In doing so, the Dutchman established himself as a ruthless competitor on track.
Max Verstappen is also the most successful Dutchman to ever race in the sport. By winning his first pole position in 2019, Verstappen became the only Dutchman to ever start a race at the front of the pack. He is also the Dutchman with the most wins in the sport (with 40 wins and two world titles).
The Red Bull driver enjoyed the most successful season of his career so far in 2022, winning 15 races in a single season, smashing Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher's record of 13 wins. In doing so, the driver also holds the record for the most podiums in a single season (18) and the highest number of points earned in a season with 454 points.
With the 2023 season going better than expected for the Dutchman, it will be interesting to see how many records he will break this year.
