Max Verstappen has been rewriting numerous Formula 1 records over the past couple of seasons, steadily climbing the ranks and now poised to potentially close in on yet another milestone set by Lewis Hamilton in China.
Back in the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 75th victory while Max Verstappen lagged behind with a mere five wins to his name.
Fast forward five years, and Hamilton finds himself at a standstill with 103 victories, while Verstappen has surged up the leaderboard to claim the third spot of all time, boasting 57 career wins. However, one notable absence from Verstappen’s winning streak is the Chinese Grand Prix.
Throughout his previous appearances at the Shanghai circuit, Verstappen’s track record includes a Did Not Finish (DNF), an eighth-place finish, as well as third, fifth, and fourth-place finishes, contrasting sharply with Hamilton’s remarkable six wins at the same venue.
Should Verstappen clinch his 58th win on Sunday, it will mark his triumph at the 26th different track in Formula 1, edging him closer to Hamilton’s all-time record of 31 wins at various tracks.
However, it’s worth noting that Verstappen won’t be able to break this record this year, as the only other track where he’s yet to taste victory is Singapore.
Among Verstappen’s favored tracks are Austria’s Red Bull Ring and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, where he boasts five wins each.
Abu Dhabi follows closely behind with four wins, trailed by three victories at Zandvoort, Spa, Barcelona, Austin, and Suzuka. However, there remain five tracks where Verstappen has yet to claim victory: Sochi, Mugello, Portimao, Istanbul Park, and the Nurburgring.
The Russian Grand Prix, canceled after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, is unlikely to return to the calendar, leaving Verstappen’s second-place finish in 2021 as his best result.
The other four tracks were introduced to the calendar in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, with Verstappen managing a Did Not Finish at the one-off Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello and securing second-place finishes in Portugal, Turkey, and Germany during their stints.
An exception is the Bahrain outer track used in the second 2020 race, where Verstappen crashed out on Lap 1 and hasn’t been utilized since, despite his two wins on the conventional Bahrain layout.
For those curious about Lewis Hamilton’s uncharted territories, he has yet to conquer Magny Cours, Valencia, Zandvoort, Miami, and Las Vegas, along with the Korean and Indian Grands Prix.
Additionally, he has yet to secure victories at the Mexico City and Sao Paulo Grands Prix, although he did win at these circuits when they were the Mexican and Brazilian GPs.
In 2020, Hamilton finished second in the one-off 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, but boasts a record eight wins in the British GP.
