31 July 2023 , 05:00
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Not everyone will like or admit it, but Max Verstappen is well on his way to joining the Formula 1 greats – if he isn't already among them.
The summer break is here and yet only one team has tasted victory in 2023. Red Bull are on a remarkable winning run, while Verstappen is personally responsible for all but two of those successes.
His latest, at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday, was his eighth in a row. He's now only one behind Sebastian Vettel's record of nine consecutive wins, also for Red Bull.
And few would bet against Verstappen equalling it in front of his home fans at Zandvoort after the summer break. Frankly, there's no reason why he can't be victorious at every other race to come this season.
Unless you're a die hard fan of Verstappen or Red Bull, then that's clearly not a good situation. For the sport as a whole, it is not a good situation to have just one team and one driver running the show, race weekend after race weekend, unchallenged.
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Take them out of the equation and there is great competition on the grid. The balance of power in the fight for second place seems to change on a weekly basis. There is often so little to separate Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and, now, McLaren in that regard.
Even behind them, the competition is so fierce that, quite often, the smaller teams and their drivers are missing out on points even when they have a brilliant weekend. But all that is overshadowed by the lack of a fight at the very front, which F1 desperately needs.
The speed of Red Bull's RB19s is unmatched this season (AP)As important of an issue that is, we mustn't use it as an excuse to disregard what we are watching unfold this season. It has been a season for the ages for both Verstappen and Red Bull, who threaten to smash every single-season record that they haven't already bettered.
And it will have longer-term implications. The Belgium race marked Verstappen's 45th F1 victory. He might be on 55 by the end of this year, which would take him to more than half-way towards Lewis Hamilton's current record of 103 race wins.
It would also put the Dutchman up to third in the all-time list, above Vettel and Alain Prost. And the most incredible thing about it is that Verstappen will have only just turned 26 – with another decade-and-a-half ahead of him in F1 if he wants it.
History is being made before our eyes. Loyalties to other teams and drivers will mean that many fans won't enjoy it, but at the very least they should respect what is being achieved by Verstappen and Red Bull Racing.
Because it's already historic in F1 terms. And if the team does go on to become the first constructor ever to have a 100 per cent win record across a season, it will be up there with some of the greatest sporting achievements ever.
Red Bull is a divisive team and Verstappen is himself a polarising figure. But love them or hate them, it is a privilege to witness the history they are making.