Max Verstappen's F1 records — the ones he beat and broke in 2023

Any limits that appeared to restrict Max Verstappen‘s young career when he entered the F1 paddock for the first time in 2015 have been unequivocally demolished in 2023. Coming off the back of a record-breaking season in its own right in 2022, the Dutchman has taken his unmatched run of form to new heights this season: winning an unprecedented 19 grands prix over the course of the season, claiming his third F1 world title in Qatar with six GPs remaining and demolishing several F1 records along the way.

During the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen led all but six of the 58 laps around Yas Marina — another dominant display that made him the first driver in the series’ history to total over 1000 laps led in a single season. Thanks to his superiority — and the lengthening F1 calendar —Verstappen’s total number of leading laps in 2023 equals the combined total that Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost achieved in 1988.

At just 25 years old, and with the potential of racing for over a decade more, Verstappen is already one of the most statistically impressive drivers F1 has ever seen.

Here is every record Verstappen beat in 2023.

 

Biggest F1 championship-winning margin

290 points

Previous record: 155 (Sebastian Vettel, 2013)

Verstappen ended his third successive title-winning campaign with a 290-point lead over second-place team-mate Sergio Perez — almost double that of the previous record: Sebastian Vettel‘s 155-point winning margin over Fernando Alonso in 2013.

In a season where the Dutchman achieved unrivalled consistency when others struggled, it was perhaps inevitable that the Dutchman’s lead would continue to grow at the top of the standings ever since taking commanding control at the Monaco GP.

 

Most F1 wins in a single season

19 wins

Previous record: 15 (Max Verstappen, 2022)

In a year where Ferrari and Mercedes both possessed race-winning machinery, Verstappen was still able to defy the odds and capture 15 grand prix victories in 2022. At the wheel of the RB19, the Dutchman eclipsed himself in 2023, scoring 19 race victories in total.

At his own admission, this record holds a little less weight than others given the expanding nature of the F1 calendar. When Michael Schumacher won an unprecedented 13 races in 2004, he had entered 18 grands prix compared to the 22 Verstappen will race in this season.

Nevertheless, he won 86.36% of grands prix in 2023, which is the highest winning percentage in F1 history, eclipsing Alberto Ascari’s 75% rate from six wins out of eight races in 1952.

 

Most F1 points in a single season

575 points

Previous record: 454 (Max Verstappen, 2022)

With an ever-expanding F1 calendar, the addition of sprint races and more points on offer than before, it’s natural that drivers will obtain larger point totals as the years roll by. In 2022, Verstappen set a new precedent, tallying a total of 454 points on his way to a second consecutive drivers’ world title. But in 2023, the Dutchman pushed the bar even higher.

Following his 19th grand prix victory of the season in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen ended the season sat on a staggering 575 championship points.

That’s 121 more points than last years tally, and 162 points better than Hamilton’s best effort in 2019.

 

Most consecutive race wins

10 wins

Previous record: 9 (Sebastian Vettel, 2013)

Verstappen’s victory at the Italian Grand Prix redefined the term ‘dominant’, as he became the first driver in F1 history to record ten straight race wins.

Despite being outqualified by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, the Dutchman drove an almost perfect race, waiting for the moment the Spaniard made a mistake — which he did when locking up into Turn 1 — and pouncing into the lead. From there he never looked back, setting a new benchmark for consecutive GP wins.

Sainz then interrupted Verstappen’s run, with the only non-Red Bull victory of the year in Singapore. The Dutchman was unfazed, winning the remaining seven races of the year. That streak is itself is the third-longest, equal with Alberto Ascari’s seven victories in 1952 and 1953; Michael Schumacher’s winning run in 2004; and Nico Rosberg’s first-place finishes from 2015 to 2016.

 

Total number of laps led

1003 laps

Previous record: 739 (Sebastian Vettel, 2011)

A season for the ages was crowned by a monumental achievement in Abu Dhabi, as Verstappen became the first driver in F1 history to led over 1000 laps in a single season.

He was also the only driver in 2023 to complete every single racing lap.

The continuing expansion of the calendar has been a major contributing factor to the Dutchman’s ability to best what many once believed to be ‘unbeatable’ records, but his ability and consistency have also matched some of the greatest names before him.

 

Most sprint wins in a single season

4 wins

Previous record: 4 (Valtteri Bottas, 2021)

Verstappen has been the unmatched ‘King of the Sprint’ in 2023 — winning four out of six and surpassing Valtteri Bottas’ season-long total of two from 2021.

Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri were the only drivers to dethrone Verstappen during sprints — the former winning from pole in Azerbaijan while the latter achieved the same feat in Qatar.

 

All-time wins ranking

3rd (54 wins)

At just 25 years old, Verstappen is currently the third most successful driver in terms of wins in F1 history. His tally of 54 race victories sits above Alain Prost‘s career total of 51 and Vettel’s 53; both drivers had their previous records smashed by Verstappen in 2023.

Although the Dutchman had admitted to being uninterested by the records he’s setting, with many years of racing still ahead of him, Schumacher’s (91) and Hamilton’s (103) totals are well within reach. In fact, if Red Bull’s current dominance were to continue, Verstappen could have already beaten his former rival’s record by midway through the 2026 F1 season.

Of course, the idea of Verstappen and Red Bull remaining perfect for the next two and half years might seem inconceivable now…but may not be an impossible feat given what the young Dutchman has accomplished already.