Formula 1: The under-the-radar record Max Verstappen is approaching

No driver has won more Formula 1 races in the halo era than Lewis Hamilton, but Max Verstappen is on the verge of changing that.

The number of Formula 1 records that Max Verstappen has broken in recent years is seemingly increasing almost every time he takes to the track on a Grand Prix weekend.

The 25-year-old Dutchman is coming off of a record 15-win season during which he secured his second world championship, just one year after securing a record 18-podium season during which he won his first.

With his 42nd and most recent victory, he passed the legendary Ayrton Senna for fifth place on the all-time wins list. With 13 races left on this year’s schedule, he can mathematically ascend to as high as third on that list by the end of the year, with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel next up.

There is another Formula 1 record that Max Verstappen is approaching that isn’t being talked about.

No driver has won more races during Formula 1’s halo era, which began in 2018, than seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton won 11 races in 2018, 11 more in 2019, and 11 more in 2020. He won the title in all three of those seasons, and he added eight more wins in 2021.

While he hasn’t won since, he still owns 41 career victories since the revolutionary cockpit protection device changed the aesthetic appearance of the open-wheel cars at the pinnacle of motorsport as we know it — and added a whole new layer of safety that hadn’t previously existed.

That total, on its own, would be sixth on the all-time wins list.

There have been 112 Grands Prix contested with the halo device, and the only other driver with more than seven wins during that span is Verstappen. Verstappen, who owns 23 victories since Hamilton’s most recent trip to the top of the podium, has won 39 races since 2018.

Given the pace of the RB19 and the hot streak that Verstappen has been on personally, even amid teammate Sergio Perez’s struggles in the same car, Verstappen looks poised to break Hamilton’s record at some point in the near future.

Verstappen is the only driver to win in each of the first six seasons of the halo era, and he has won multiple races each year.

Of the other 32 races that have been contested since the start of the 2018 season, seven have been won by Valtteri Bottas, six have been won by Sebastian Vettel, six have been won by Sergio Perez, five have been won by Charles Leclerc, three have been won by Daniel Ricciardo, one has been won by Kimi Raikkonen, one has been won by Carlos Sainz Jr., one has been won by George Russell, one has been won by Pierre Gasly, and one has been won by Esteban Ocon.

Verstappen is set to go for his 40th career halo win in Sunday’s British Grand Prix. ESPN2 is set to broadcast the 2023 season’s 10th race live from Silverstone Circuit starting at 9:55 a.m. ET.

FanDuel Sportsbook, which is offering fans $200 just for signing up and betting $20, lists him as the -420 favorite to win. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss it!