Verstappen joins the four-time F1 champions club
27 November 2024Max Verstappen secured his fourth F1 drivers’ title in Las Vegas, and with it he joins one of the sport’s most exclusive clubs, reserved only for the crème de la crème of motorsport.
Great drivers have come and gone during F1’s 74-year history, and not all of them have been able to string together one championship-winning campaign, let alone four.
Talent is just one part of an ever-evolving puzzle, and as we’ve seen in the 2024 season, the shapes of the pieces can change overnight and suddenly, you’re in the fourth-fastest car. Even so, Max held his nerve in the second half of the season to take his fourth title in as many years.
How many drivers are in the four-time F1 champions club?
There have been just 777 people fortunate enough to call themselves F1 drivers since 1950, and for just 115 of them, the stars have aligned to win a Grand Prix.
Fewer still have been crowned the world drivers’ champion, just 34 names are on that list. Of those 34, half can say they’ve won two or more titles and only 11 have achieved what Max did last year to become a three-time champion.
With his latest title wrapped up in Las Vegas, the Dutchman joins an ultra-exclusive club of just six.
Who is in the four-time F1 champions club?
Max joins fellow Red Bull alumni Sebastian Vettel and ‘The Professor’ Alain Prost on four titles, while the original F1 great Juan Manuel Fangio has five to his name and Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton are tied at the top on seven.
Ahead of the curve
At just 27 years of age, Max is one of the youngest members of the four-time champions club. Just himself and Vettel achieved the feat before the age of 30, with the German driver getting there a year earlier. The Red Bull Junior Team, cutthroat as it is, has more than justified itself having nurtured two generational talents from ambitious youngsters to four-time champions in the last two decades.
Success on this scale so early in Max’s career means there are still plenty of seasons left in the tank, and therefore plenty more shots at the title. That is of course, if he decides to stay in the sport. In the past, he’s been vocal about trying other forms of racing and quitting altogether.
Not long ago, we also saw how the twilight of Vettel’s career panned out. Max’s seemingly insatiable hunger to win might get the better of him if he were to spend time in a midfield team later down the line.
How does Max stack up against the greats?
With great achievement, comes great comparison and scrutiny. When Max secured his fourth title, conversations around how he compares to others in the four-time champions club were sure to follow.
As far as the stats are concerned, Max certainly holds his own against the titans of F1. In terms of total wins, he’s now third on 62 behind Hamilton (105) and Schumacher (91).
He’s also fourth when it comes to win percentage, behind three drivers from eras when there were considerably fewer races in a season (Fangio, Alberto Ascari and Jim Clark). At the time of writing, Max’s hit rate sits at 29.95 per cent, marginally ahead of Schumacher (29.74 per cent) and Hamilton (29.66 per cent), both with far more Grand Prix entries to their names.
Where Verstappen really starts to shine is the season-specific records; he occupies the top two spots for most wins in a single season on 15 in 2022 and 19 in 2023. Vettel and Schumacher share the second spot on 13 in 2013 and 2004 respectively.
His all-conquering 2023 campaign also saw him take the record for most consecutive wins (10) ahead of Vettel and himself again on 9.
Then there’s the enviable accolade, and one unlikely to be beaten, of youngest race winner. Max took the top step of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix at 18, beating Vettel and Charles Leclerc by a considerable three-year margin.
Moving away from the scorecard, evidence for his ‘legend of the sport’ designation continues to pile up. Drives like his recent Brazilian Grand Prix wet weather masterclass – and his performance at the same circuit in 2016 – can be mentioned in the same breath as Lewis’ legendary drive at Silverstone in 2008 and Schumacher’s at the Spanish Grand Prix of 1996.
What next for Verstappen?
So where does he go from here? Having dominated F1 for the past few seasons, Max will be eyeing another title campaign in 2025, but it won’t come as easy as in recent years.
As a result of the restriction on wind tunnel time for those further up the grid, the pace of the pack has converged in a way unseen for many a year. It’s predicted that McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull will all be in the mix again in 2025, in what experts are touting as one of the all-time great seasons before it’s even started.
Then, in 2026, a drastic regulation overhaul is set to completely shake up the order. With Adrian Newey having departed for Aston Martin, Red Bull will need to pull out all the stops to remain competitive in a radically different era.
Should Max and Red Bull snatch another title from the jaws of their rivals in a hotly contested 2025, he’ll match Fangio on five titles. If the team keep their competitive edge after the regulation change, it’s not out of the question for the Dutchman to surpass Lewis and Michael as the most decorated driver in F1 history. It’s a tall order, but not beyond the abilities of F1’s latest four-time champion.
