The first half of the season has been contested with great excitement, and now, with a break of more than three weeks to come, the attention is focused on Max Verstappen's rearview mirrors. After 11 races, the two-time champion leads with an impressive 110-point advantage over his closest pursuer, Checo Pérez. This represents a significant 64% more points compared to the same stage of the championship in 2022, when Max only had a 38-point advantage over the second-placed Leclerc.
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Verstappen's performance has been outstanding this year, with seven consecutive wins out of the nine obtained in 2023, seven poles, 6 fastest laps, and a prominent presence on all podiums of the year. The path to the third championship seems paved for him, proving to be an imposing and overwhelming reality in Formula 1.
If we remove Verstappen's positions in each race this year, Checo Pérez would lead the standings with a 27-point advantage over Fernando Alonso and 33 points over Lewis Hamilton. It would be a tight tournament that, with the leader's retirement, would adjust to a minimum. This demystifies the idea that Verstappen's thrashing is simply due to the superiority of the Red Bull. Checo, occupying second place in the standings, has had problems in three Q1 sessions and three Q2 sessions. Each mistake by the Mexican further enhances Max's greatness, becoming the fuel to build his legend.
If we add up all the time differences by race that Max has won this year, the accumulated time would be an impressive one minute and 54 seconds. Enough time to lead in the Monaco GP, make a pit stop, watch all his rivals complete a lap, and still come out in first place. This decisiveness is backed by the statements of Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing's sporting advisor, who after Verstappen's victory in Hungary by more than 33 seconds, confidently stated that Max was nowhere near the limit and could have won by twice the margin.
With the championship practically secured, Max Verstappen now aims to break records. With seven wins out of eleven remaining races, he has the opportunity to surpass his own record for most victories in a season. If he wins the next three races, including today's race in Belgium, he would also break the record for consecutive wins, established by Vettel in 2013. In addition, if he increases his lead over Pérez from 110 to 156 points, he will become the reigning champion with the largest margin of points over the runner-up. Being on all the podiums and winning trophies in 8 out of the next eleven races would make him the man with the most trophies in a year since Schumacher in 2002. The most immediate and difficult challenge is the number of pole positions; to be the best poleman in a season, he will need to achieve 9 poles in the next races with an 82% success rate. A challenging challenge, but perhaps the necessary motivation to wake up with excitement and put on the flameproof suit, not only to dominate in Sunday's races but also to further extend his dominance on Saturdays on the starting grid.