Max Verstappen reaches 123 career podiums: overtakes Sebastian Vettel and closes in on Michael Schumacher. Max Verstappen scored his 123rd career podium in Mexico.

Max Verstappen on the podium… of podiums
In Mexico City, Max Verstappen achieved the best result he could have hoped for considering where he started on Friday. The Dutch superstar adopted a reverse strategy compared to his rivals, with a difficult first stint on the medium tyres and a strong final push on the softs, during which he was heading for an unexpected second place before the Virtual Safety Car froze the finishing order.

He eventually crossed the line in third, securing his 123rd career podium. It’s a significant number because, with Sunday’s result, the reigning world champion has officially surpassed Sebastian Vettel in total top-three finishes. Verstappen is now third in the all-time standings, behind only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. While Sir Lewis remains well ahead, the same cannot be said for the Kaiser, who is just 32 podiums ahead and could be caught within two years if Verstappen continues to have a competitive car.

The ranking
Here’s the top 10 list of Formula 1 drivers with the most podium finishes in history:

1. Lewis Hamilton – 202 podiums (53.72%)

2. Michael Schumacher – 155 podiums (50.49%)

3. Max Verstappen – 123 podiums (53.71%)

4. Sebastian Vettel – 122 podiums (40.80%)

5. Alain Prost – 106 podiums (53.27%)

6. Fernando Alonso – 106 podiums (25.18%)

7. Kimi Raikkonen – 103 podiums (29.51%)

8. Ayrton Senna – 80 podiums (49.69%)

9. Rubens Barrichello – 68 podiums (21.05%)

10. Valtteri Bottas – 67 podiums (27.24%)

In terms of Grands Prix needed to reach 123 podiums, Schumacher still leads, achieving it in his 195th race (Melbourne 2004), followed by Hamilton, who did it in his 216th (Le Castellet 2018). Verstappen reached the milestone in his 229th Grand Prix.

When considering the percentage of races finished on the podium, Verstappen currently ranks fourth all-time among drivers who have taken part in at least 20 races. Leading the list is Juan Manuel Fangio, followed by Giuseppe Farina, with Lewis Hamilton third, almost tied with Verstappen (53.72% vs 53.71%). If Max Verstappen reaches the podium again at Interlagos and Sir Lewis Hamilton finishes outside the top three, there would be a “Brazilian overtake” in this statistic.