Max Verstappen completed the most dominant season in Formula One history with victory in Abu Dhabi.
After a 19th win in 22 races, the PA news agency looks at how the triple world champion compares to the sport’s all-time stars.
Among the greats
Verstappen’s third world championship win put him in elite company as only the 11th driver with a hat-trick of titles to his name.
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton share the record of seven crowns apiece, with Juan Manuel Fangio their nearest challenger on five.
Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel won four apiece, with Verstappen alongside Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet Sr and Ayrton Senna on three.
Only five drivers – Schumacher, Hamilton, Fangio, Vettel and now Verstappen – have won three in consecutive years. He has the chance next season to match all but Schumacher with a fourth straight title, the German having won five in succession from 2000 to 2004.
Verstappen has also moved third all-time in terms of race wins. His 53rd, at the season’s penultimate race in Las Vegas, drew him alongside Vettel for that position and in only 184 races compared to the German’s 299.
Abu Dhabi made it 54 out of 185 and means only Hamilton and Schumacher have won more races – Hamilton has 103 from 331 starts, despite now having gone two seasons without a win, while Schumacher finished with 91 in 306.
Record breaker
Verstappen set a notable record during the season with 10 consecutive race wins up to and including September’s Italian Grand Prix.
That beat Vettel’s run of nine in a row in 2013, also with Red Bull, while Verstappen’s Abu Dhabi win in 2022’s final race and Sergio Perez’s early-season contributions ensured the team won a record 15 in succession.
The Dutchman’s 19 wins broke his own single-season record of 15, set last year. Only 14 F1 seasons have even had 19 or more races in total.
While the length of the season and the modern scoring system are both significant factors, his points tally of 575 is a huge record – again, his own 454 last season was the previous best. Unsurprisingly that brought with it a record winning margin, both outright (290 points) and by percentage with more than double the points of second-placed team-mate Perez (285).
Verstappen also clinched the title with six grands prix remaining, equalling Schumacher’s record from 2002.
His 86.4 per cent win rate was another record, shattering the 75 per cent mark set back in 1952 – F1’s third ever season – when Alberto Ascari won six of the eight races contested.
He is the first driver to lead 1,000 or more laps in a season – smashing Vettel’s record of 739 in 2011 and equalling the combined total of McLaren’s dominant 1988 pairing of Senna and Prost.
Verstappen was the only driver to complete every lap of this season, adding two second places and fifth in Singapore to his 19 wins.
Leclerc excited by 'motivation' Hamilton's arrival will bring to Ferrari
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc thinks that the arrival of Lewis Hamilton can help take both the team and himself to another level.
At the start of the 2024 season, Ferrari shocked Formula One by announcing that Hamilton would replace Carlos Sainz and be joining for the following campaign.
His impending arrival is something that Leclerc is clearly excited about, as he explained in an appearance on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
“When a champion like Lewis gets to any team, it brings a lot of motivation out of every single person,” Leclerc said.
“He will come along with all the experience that he's had over the years with Mercedes – a different way of working, a different vision – and this is always benefitting a team.”
Hamilton is a seven-time Drivers’ Championship winner with his last title coming in 2020, meaning he is level in the all-time standings with Michael Schumacher, while he also holds the F1 record for the most race wins ever (105).
Understandably, Leclerc is looking forward to being able to measure his own performance against a strong yardstick.
“Obviously for me it's going to be amazing because I’ll have, in the same car as me, the most successful driver in F1 history,” he said.
“That will be both extremely interesting for me to learn from one of the best ever, as well as a really big challenge and motivation to beat Lewis and to show what I'm capable of.
“With Lewis joining the team, he will definitely be a benchmark so it will be very important for me to be on my top level.”
On a personal level, Hamilton’s arrival will spell an end to the four-year period that Leclerc and Sainz have been together at Ferrari.
Leclerc was reflective about the relationship the pair have had while racing together, with Sainz set to join Williams in 2025.
While they have a good personal relationship, Leclerc said that it has not always gone smoothly.
“I think we get on very, very well,” he said.
“Yes, there have been many moments where, inside the helmet, I hated him and he hated me, because we didn't view the situation in the same way.
“But everything was fixed after a discussion between us two. We share many interests and we’ve had a lot of memorable moments that I will remember forever.”
Jamaican sensation Alex Powell claims first F4 win in Italy
Jamaican Alex Powell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team Junior, claimed his first European F4 victory in one of the most exciting races of the year at the famed ‘Temple of Speed’, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy, on Sunday.
Ninth on the grid for the first race of the weekend, Powell had a blistering start, which saw him move up four positions on lap one, before the first of several Safety Car appearances paused racing. It was a race with multiple incidents and re-starts, but Powell remained focused and was consistently sharp for every start.
After a three-way battle, the Jamaican sensation executed a breathtaking pass for the race lead, before a final incident brought out the Safety Car again, with Powell crossing the line first as the race finished.
In addition to the outright race win, Powell also secured first among rookie drivers, claiming the two top trophies in the race. His performance also assisted Prema Racing to secure the team title for the 2024 Euro 4 Championship.
McConnell confident heading into rounds three and four of Nitrocross Championship in Utah
Jamaican racing sensation Fraser McConnell is gearing up for an intense weekend of action as he heads into Rounds three and four of the Nitrocross championship on October 5 & 6 in Utah.
Following a stellar performance at the season’s opening rounds in Richmond, Virginia, McConnell holds second place in the overall standings, just 11 points behind leader Kevin Eriksson.
McConnell’s dominant showing at Richmond Raceway on September 7 & 8 saw him secure a third-place finish in Round 1, followed by a thrilling battle for first in Round 2.
After clinching the top qualifier spot and winning his semi-final, McConnell started the Round 2 final in pole position. Despite taking an early lead, a dramatic half-spin pushed him off his racing line, allowing Eriksson to take the win. McConnell finished second ahead of Viktor Vranckx.
Looking ahead to the Utah rounds, McConnell remains optimistic about his chances.
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend, going back to Utah, the birthplace of Nitrocross,” he shared.
“It all started there with the Nitro World Games in 2018 and 2019, so it's a very special place for everyone involved.”
McConnell also highlighted the challenge of the upcoming track. “Salt Lake is one of the craziest tracks on the calendar, with the biggest gap jump and a lot of demanding corners. It requires high speed from us drivers. I'll just go out there and hit my marks as usual, trying to extract as much as I can from the car while proudly repping Jamaica.”
With back-to-back podium finishes in Rounds 1 and 2, McConnell is confident about continuing his strong run.
“We’re second in the championship with 107 points, and I’m looking forward to continuing that streak this weekend,” he said.
McConnell currently leads defending champion Robin Larsson by four points and is poised to close the gap further in his pursuit of overtaking Eriksson.
McConnell's season is sponsored by JustBet, Proven, Tru Shake, Rainforest, and the Jamaica Tourist Board.
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