Max Verstappen is the reigning three-time Formula One World Champion, and his streak in the United States was the one for the record books. From the 2021 United States Grand Prix to the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, there were six races held in the United States; all were won by Verstappen. We now take a look at that six-race run that spanned close to two years in which the Dutchman reigned supreme in the land of the free.
Before the storm
At the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen made a name for himself by becoming Formula One’s youngest driver, podium sitter, and race winner, all in his debut race for the Red Bull team. In his first few years in the sport, Verstappen became known for his supreme race craft, but also for his unwarranted aggressive style that terrorized even the veterans of the sport.
Unfortunately for Verstappen, he had to spend the first five years of his career competing against the most dominant force in the history of the sport; Mercedes nailed the 2024 turbo-hybrid regulations and had won every championship up until the 2020 season. However, the situation changed in the 2021 season when Red Bull managed to build its first competitive car since 2013. Verstappen now has the machinery to not only fight with the Silver Arrows but beat them occasionally.
For that season, Lewis Hamilton was looking to win a record-breaking eighth World Championship, and the fighting Dutchman would like to spoil it to earn his first. Will the Brit have another shot at achieving such a feat at Ferrari next year? Visit bettingtop10.com to place your bets for a chance to win big!
2021 United States Grand Prix
Before that race weekend began, Verstappen had just won his home race for the first time at the Zandvoort circuit; the 17th win of his career and the 7th that season. He had just retaken the lead in the world championship from Hamilton and was six points ahead.
Throughout the week, Verstappen dominated the timing board and qualified fastest on Saturday. On race day, he exchanged the lead of the grand prix with Hamilton twice before taking the lead for good on the 38th lap. He won by less than 1.5 seconds and extended the gap to twelve points.
2022 Miami Grand Prix
After winning his first championship, Verstappen and the entire F1 grid entered a new era of technical regulations in the 2022 season. After two retirements in the first three races, he retaliated at championship-leading Charles Leclerc with a win at Imola to close the gap down to 27 points.
In a theme that is now common in post-2022 Formula One, Ferrari nailed the qualifying and secured a front-row lockout. In the race, however, Verstappen overcame both Ferrari cars and won by less than four seconds. The gap was down to 19 points.
2022 United States Grand Prix
The second race on American soil was held under a much more favorable circumstance to Verstappen; he had just won his second championship at the Japanese Grand Prix. However, the Dutchman did not show any signs of slowing down.
He snatched pole from both Ferraris, edging Leclerc by less than seven-hundredths of a second or 0.069% faster. In an eventful race, Verstappen had to battle Hamilton once again after a long while before overtaking the Briton on the 50th lap. He crossed the finish line 5 seconds ahead of the 7-time champion to claim his 33rd career win.
2023
To put it bluntly, the 2023 World Championship season can be summed up with the following sentence: Ferrari qualifies well on a Saturday, Max Verstappen wins on a Sunday. The Dutchman won a record-extending 19 out of 22 races, including all three races held in the United States.
In Miami, he managed to qualify only ninth after an unlucky red flag, whereas his teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez secured pole. He made it up to second place after 15 laps and managed to keep up with Checo despite having older tires. He won by less than six seconds and crushed any hopes Perez might have at winning.
Like in 2022, Verstappen had already won his third championship when Texas rolled around. Again, he struggled in qualifying to achieve sixth place. He did not lead until the halfway point but did not look out of pace and won by three seconds to Hamilton.
In the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen qualified third behind the two Ferraris, but with Carlos Sainz’ disqualification, the Dutchman was promoted to second. Despite an unlucky safety car, Verstappen quickly retook the lead and won by two seconds over Leclerc.
As of writing, this streak has long come to an end at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, where Lando Norris took his maiden win. But it is undeniable that Verstappen’s dominance in the States will be hard to ever be matched.
