Max Verstappen hits iconic numbers of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher at Suzuka. Max Verstappen joins legends Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.

Max Verstappen, history is now
We’ll be hearing about the Suzuka weekend for years. Not so much for its spectacle—the race was actually very dull—but for Max Verstappen’s performance, managing to overturn seemingly unquestionable technical hierarchies thanks to his talent and his synergy with the RB21, a car that only in his hands seems truly competitive.

In Japan, Max Verstappen pulled off a sporting feat on Saturday, beating the heavily favored McLaren cars by a few thousandths of a second and then controlling them in the race, taking advantage of the difficulty of overtaking on the iconic Asian circuit.

Suzuka is a track that naturally reveals the best drivers: it’s a complete and highly technical layout where champions excel. Here, Super Max secured the 41st pole position and the 64th win of his career: fittingly, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher reached those same milestones at this very circuit. Magic achieved his 41st pole in the iconic 1989 Japanese GP, while the Kaiser claimed his 64th of 91 victories at Suzuka in 2002. An even more astonishing coincidence: that Grand Prix was Michael Schumacher’s 114th podium in F1—exactly the same number Max Verstappen reached after yesterday’s race.

Facts and stats, in short, that place the world champion in the footsteps of giants. And it’s further confirmed by his fourth consecutive victory at the Japanese circuit, a feat no one had ever achieved. Max Verstappen also took his fourth consecutive pole at Suzuka: if he repeats this in 2026, he will once again match Michael Schumacher.