Max Verstappen’s career in Formula 1 has been record-breaking on many fronts. From becoming the youngest ever driver to start an F1 race to the youngest ever race winner, records have been tumbling during Max’s time on the grid.

At the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, he broke another record that had been held by Fernando Alonso for over 12 years. 

Max has been breaking record after record during his time in Formula 1. When he joined the grid in 2015 he became the youngest ever driver to start an F1 race at just 17 years 166 days old.

Max quickly went on to set records for becoming the youngest ever driver to make it in to Q3, the youngest to set a fastest lap during a race and the youngest to score points.

Then, at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix he became the youngest ever F1 race winner at just 18 years and 228 days old. That record still stands, and he is almost 3-years clear of the second youngest race winner, Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 years old when he took his first win.

In 2023 Max was supremely dominant in what was yet another record breaking year. The 22-race season saw the Dutchman set records for the most podiums in one season (21) and most wins in one season (19).

Those records are unlikely to be broken for a long time as the other teams like Mclaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have improved their performance and given the Red Bull some more competition.

Whilst 2023 was almost a complete whitewash, 2024 has been much more challenging for Max. He got off to a great start taking 7 wins from the first 10 races, but then the other teams started to catch up.

Norris has been Max’s biggest title rival, taking his first F1 victory at the Miami Grand Prix and then two more at Zandvoort and Singapore. 

Coming in to the Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paolo, Norris had to maximise his points haul in order to stand any chance of taking the title fight all the way to the wire.

For the Brazilian Grand Prix Max started 17th after a disastrous qualifying and a 5-place grid penaltly. Norris started on pole and it looked like a great opportunity for him to claw some serious points back against his main rival.

But Max didn’t read that script. In one of the most incredible drives Formula 1 has ever seen, he made his way through the soaking wet conditions to clinch a sensational victory. He finished over 19 seconds ahead of the second-place Alpine, the largest winning victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 24 years.

Winning the race from 17th on the grid was an incredible achievement, but it wasn’t a record breaker. John Watson won the 1982 Detroit Grand Prix from 17th, as did Kimi Räikkönen at the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix where he took the lead of the race on the final lap.

Rubens Barichello went one better, winning the 2000 German Grand Prix after starting 18th. But John Watson holds the record for winning from furthest back, after taking victory at the 1983 USA West Grand Prix from 22nd on the grid.

But there was one record which Max broke by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix that has stood for a while. In fact, it’s been held by Fernando Alonso since he won the 2012 European Grand Prix on the Valencia Street Circuit in June of that year.

Max now holds the record for race victories from total number of different starting positions.  

Max has won races from 10 different grid positions –  1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14 and now 17th. Alonso held the record previously with victories from 9 different starting slots, but now Max has trumped him in the stats department.

Here’s the top 10 drivers who have won F1 races from most different starting positions:

Of the drivers listed above, perhaps the most impressive is David Coulthard. He ‘only’ won 13 Grand Prix but did so from 8 different starting positions, the lowest being 11th.

Of the drivers in the top 10, only Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton are still on the grid. With Aston Martin’s current form it’s unlikely Fernando will be able to take another victory any time soon, but perhaps when Adrian Newey starts have an input at Aston Martin he might be in with a shot.

Max has never won a race from 5th place on the grid. If he does that then he’ll have won from 11 different grid positions, and that will take some beating.