WHILE Max Verstappen welcomed the 44th win of his career in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, it was a number he wanted also to be rid of as soon as possible.
Seven-time world champion and rival Lewis Hamilton races with 44 on his Mercedes and it is closely associated with the Briton.
“Hopefully, I don’t stay on 44. That would be terrible,” the Red Bull driver told the post-race press conference for the top three finishers.
There is every chance that the double world champion will have moved on to 45 by the end of next weekend, with Belgium following immediately on from Hungary and Verstappen on a run of seven wins in a row and nine from 11.
Last year Verstappen won in Belgium from 14th on the starting grid.
The Formula One record is nine in a row, with Sebastian Vettel doing that in 2013 with Red Bull on his way to a fourth title.
Red Bull has now won a record 12 in a row–11 this season and last year’s finale in Abu Dhabi–and brought upgrades to Hungary where Verstappen won with the sport’s biggest margin since 2021.
“Hopefully we can keep this momentum going for a long time,” said Verstappen, whose win on Sunday was his 24th since the start of last season.
“I think it was a pretty perfect day.
“Of course, it’s really enjoyable to work with the whole team and to have this kind of success. I think people probably forget how tough it is to win 12 in a row. Even when you have the fastest car,” he added. — Reuters
