Photo: Race Pictures

This insane stat confirms Verstappen’s supremacy in the ground-effect era

10:27, 12 Dec

byTobia Elia

Max Verstappen can unquestionably be considered the best driver of the ground-effect car generation.

The four-time world champion, even without completing an unprecedented title comeback, still ended the season with the most poles and wins, securing his seventy-first victory just last weekend.

What’s truly remarkable, however, are his numbers over the past four years. In the ground-effect era, Verstappen alone has scored more podiums than any other team combining both of their drivers.

The Dutchman finished this technical quadrennial with 66 podiums — three more than McLaren, eight ahead of Ferrari, and 20 more than Mercedes, which was the only top team to see a significant decline compared to its dominance from 2014 to 2021.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Aston Martin follows with 8 podiums, Alpine with 4, Williams with 2, and both Sauber and Racing Point with 1 each, while Haas remains the only team yet to secure a podium in Formula 1.

Wolff points to key Verstappen edge ahead of F1’s 2026 overhaul

Amid the uncertainty surrounding the 2026 regulations, Toto Wolff sees Max Verstappen already ahead of the pack.

According to him, drivers who are used to spending time in the simulator will have a clear advantage with the new generation of cars.

Verstappen, in this context, fits the profile of the modern-era driver perfectly. He has years of experience in virtual racing with Team Redline across various series and even took part in two Nürburgring events earlier this year in GT4 and GT3 cars, demonstrating the versatility and adaptability that the upcoming F1 cars will demand.

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