Red Bull's Max Verstappen after winning the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, June 18, 2023.
Montreal – Dutch driver Max Verstappen remains hungry for more challenges after a successful Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix. The reigning world champion and leader of the standings on Sunday equaled the feat of the legendary Brazilian Ayrton Senna with his 41st triumph and secured his Red Bull team's jubilee 100th victory in F1. The 25-year-old driver told the DPA agency that Red Bull's next goal is now to reach 200 victories.
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Photo gallery: World Championship of Formula 1 cars in the 2023 season
“Of course I'm proud of it, but I hope it doesn't stop there,” Verstappen said of balancing Senna's balance. “We will want to win more races,” he added.
The two-time world champion dominated Sunday's event in Montreal in start-to-finish style, winning by more than nine seconds ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso. He won his sixth race of the season, his fourth in a row, and leads the championship by 69 points ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez. “The debate over whether the Dutch can still be caught this year is over,” wrote the Guardian newspaper.
The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera joined in the praise: “Verstappen equals Senna's 41 victories. This number unites two drivers who could not be more different. But they share the same sporting aggression and hunger for success.”
Only the Frenchman Alain Prost (51), the Germans Sebastian Vettel (53) and Michael Schumacher (91) have more wins in Formula 1, and the British Lewis Hamilton (103) leads the way. “We are witnessing the birth of another mega-talent. You can start talking about him the same way you talk about other greats,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner. “I think the podiums here with Max, Fernando and Lewis were iconic for the last season in Formula 1,” Horner said, referring to the fact that all three drivers have amassed a combined 176 victories.
Verstappen also contributed significantly with 41 wins. to the 100th triumph of Red Bull, which has been in F1 since 2005. The other 38 victories were previously won by Sebastian Vettel, the Australian Mark Webber won nine times, his compatriot Daniel Ricciardo won seven times and the Mexican Pérez won five championships.
Red Bull is the fifth team in history to break this mark. Only Williams (114), Mercedes (125), McLaren (183) and Ferrari (242) have more wins. “It's a great team effort, but we want to keep winning. The new goal is 200 victories,” said Verstappen.
Horner then recalled the memory of founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died last year. “It's an amazing achievement that we're yet to realize. We're a young team that only got our first win in 2009. We've achieved a lot in that time and I hope we'll hit another 100,” added Horner.
The World Championship continues on July 2, when Red Bull's home Grand Prix of Austria is on the program.
