With his fifth win in Baku in the opening eight races, Max Verstappen brought his tally up to 25 career wins. The Dutchman world champion is among the very best in the sport’s history. And with the 25th win of his career, Verstappen now is in the top ten of all-time F1 race winners. And if his current form is to speak for itself, he will definitely win a whole lot more.

The 25th win put him level with all-time greats Niki Lauda and Jim Clark. And being on the same level as these two incredible drivers and multiple world championship winners is an honor. But modern-day Formula 1 has come a long way since Lauda and Clark last raced. And keeping this in mind, the Red Bull man gave a classy and respectful reply when made aware of this stat.

Verstappen said to the interviewer who told him about the statistic, “Yeah, we also do more races a year right, so if you have a good car it’s not really comparable, but it’s nice for the books.” Verstappen’s reply showcases his understanding of the difference between the F1 eras. And he also showed his respect towards the old GOATs with his classy reply when the interviewer pointed it out.

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Formula 1 is a safer sport now, but that wasn’t always the case, and multiple drivers died in accidents during a GP weekend. Similar was the case of Jim Clark, whose career spanned eight years, the same as Verstappen so far. However, the British racing driver boasts a better race win percentage than Verstappen; Clark won his 25 races in 72 starts compared to Verstappen’s 149.

Team orders could mean another world championship for Max Verstappen

After the threat of the Ferrari vanquished from the race in Baku, it was a comfortable 1-2 for Red Bull. However, as Horner had claimed, “The No 1 driver is the driver that’s ahead, it’s as simple as that,” did not turn out to be the case.

Sergio Perez pipped Verstappen in the Azerbaijan GP qualifying and was leading the race as well. However, after a faster Verstappen overtook the Mexican, he was told to stand his ground with a simple, “No fighting”.

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Perez, a championship contender with a 21-point gap to leader Verstappen, understands who is Red Bull’s preference. The question is, can he take the Championship battle close enough?