Max Verstappen's statistics for 2018
Published on 29 December 2018 by Mike Motilall
2018 was the fourth year already for Max Verstappen in Formula 1. During the 21 Grands Prix he did this year, the Dutchman's performance was once again the reason for some remarkable statistics.
With his fourth place in the final standings and the 249 points to his name, 2018 was Max’ best year in Formula 1 so far. Other data supports this fact as well.
Verstappen took home the victory twice this year, just like in 2017. In Austria, Max made it to the top step for the first time this year. He also reigned supreme for the second time in a row in Mexico.
Max doubled up his total amount of podium finishes in 2018. He made it to the podium 11 times this year, just as many times as 2016 and 2017 combined together. With 22 podiums in total, Verstappen is now already in the top fifty and even at an age that Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton were not even in Formula 1 yet. Verstappen was on the podium the last five races of this season. Before this season, Max hadn’t been on the podium more than two times in a row. Quite remarkable is also the fact that Max finished twice in third, second and first in a row this year. He pulled this off in Canada, France and Austria, as well as in Japan, America and Mexico.
The amount of fastest laps were also doubled by the youngster this year. In Monaco and in Canada, Max was the fastest one on track, bringing his total now to four.
At the Italian Grand Prix this year, and for the third time in three years, Max was denied a podium due to a five-second time penalty. Just like in America last year and in Mexico in 2016, Max crossed the line in third. Only this time round, it was known, even before the finish, that the Dutchman would be handed out a time penalty. Resulting in him being ranked fifth on the leaderboard after the race.
Unfortunately the record for the youngest ever pole sitter, will not be for Verstappen. This year, the Red Bull Racing-driver qualified twice in second, just like last year in Singapore and Mexico. From the coming season onwards, the youngster will be older than Sebastian Vettel was when he took his first pole on the Monza circuit in 2008.
However, Verstappen still has two seasons left to snatch the record for youngest ever world champion from the German. Albeit said that he also has fierce competition from the evenly aged 21-year-old Charles Leclerc, who is contracted to drive for Ferrari in 2019.
Verstappen has already amassed 670 points in his Formula 1-career. This puts him thirteenth on the all-time ranking list. It should be said that that amount is a bit distorted due to the fact that since 2010 every race winner gets 25 points for a win, while previously the winner was awarded with only ten points and before 1991 even with just only nine points.
Max led 169 laps this year, putting only Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in front of him. In the past two years, Max was not in the lead for only just four laps in Mexico.
At the Grand Prix of the America’s, Max brilliantly moved up, from having started eighteenth, all the way to second. Gaining no less than sixteen positions, the most of all the drivers this year.
Max came in second in Brazil as well. A major disappointment seeing Verstappen was leading the race until his old foe Esteban Ocon drove him off track when he wanted to lap the Frenchman. The last time a driver leading the race was driven off track by a back marker, happened also in Brazil, in 2001. This happened when Juan Pablo Montoya wanted to lap Jos Verstappen. The Colombian was hit by the Dutchman in the Arrows causing both drivers to drop out.
The coming season, Max will, if all goes well, drive his 100th Grand Prix in the USA. Making him the second Dutchman, just like his father, who has done 100 starts in the Formula-1. Father Jos ultimately only did 107 starts. A number that his son intends to blow out of the water off course.
During the 107th and final race of Jos Verstappen in 2003, Kimi Raikkonen was also on the grid. With the departure of Fernando Alonso from Formula 1, the Finn is the only driver left on the grid who has raced both Jos as well as Max Verstappen.
Of all the drivers, Max has been voted Driver of the Day the most this season. No less than six times did Max amass the most votes from the fans and even five times during the last seven Grands Prix.
With Honda now becoming the engine supplier, the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing-team will be starting a new chapter next year. This will be the fourth engine supplier in Max’ career, so far he has driven with Renault, Ferrari and TAG-Heuer engines. It needs to be said that the latter was of course also a Renault power unit. With Pierre Gasly joining the squad, Max Verstappen will get a new team mate next year. The Frenchman will be Max’ third team mate, after Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo.
