When was the last time four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen finished outside the Top-10?
Max Verstappen has been competing in Formula 1 since 2015 and over the years, has only gone from strength to strength.
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Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Max Verstappen has been ruling over the pinnacle of motor racing for the last few years. Since amassing his maiden world title in 2021, he has not looked back and has gone on to outright dominate the sport.
While Max Verstappen has broken records left, right, and center, he has finished in the Top-10 regularly. Barring the DNFs, the 27-year-old last finished outside the top 10 way back in the 2016 season of the sport.
During that time, Verstappen ended the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in P11 behind then-Williams driver Felipe Massa. This outrageous stat clearly shows how dominant the former has proven in the single-seater F1 challengers.
Moreover, what makes this even more special is the fact that, back in the day, Red Bull didn’t have the fastest car. The Dutchman was still very young and trying to find his feet in the sport against heavy hitters like Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, and the other more experienced drivers.
Max Verstappen to dominate the new regulations era with Red Bull?
While Max Verstappen has broken records for fun in the ground-effect era, the 2026 regulations could change the trajectory of his career. He is the hottest property on the grid, and all the top teams have, at some point enquired about acquiring his services.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been a huge admirer of Verstappen. Moreover, he has always talked up the chances of a future partnership with the latter at Mercedes. If Red Bull fails to deliver a strong challenger from 2026 onwards, there will be a huge chance of the four-time world champion jumping ship.
The lights of Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and even Aston Martin could join the race to acquire Verstappen. It would all depend on the kind of challenger the Milton-Keynes-based team would be able to produce under the new regulations.
One other factor that could potentially influence Verstappen’s decision is his loyalty toward the Red Bull F1 team. They are the ones who have looked after him from a young age, and he is well aware of this fact. Without the confidence of the lights of Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, who knows, Verstappen might not have even made it to the pinnacle of motor racing.
F1 is an extremely unpredictable sport where things can change all of a sudden. Other than some tough moments, Verstappen has felt very much at ease within the Red Bull setup. If the Austrian outfit delivers once again under the new regs, then it will almost be a certainty that fans will see him finishing his Red Bull contract until the end of 2028.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)