Rogers Inside: Will Max Verstappen become the last member of the 50 club?

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They lay around almost like dead flies, gasping for air. For once, all drivers agreed: “Qatar 2023 was the toughest race yet!” At 35 degrees at night and 60 in the cockpit.

This includes Max Verstappen (26), who again became world champion in the sprint on Saturday. With his 49th GP victory on Sunday, the slowly terrifying Dutchman will knock on a door that only four super champions have been able to open since the start of the 1950 World Championship: 50th victory.

Cheers to the first, Schumacher the fastest

The first member was Alain Prost in 1993 at the age of 38 and 192 races, the fastest was Michael Schumacher in Magny-Cours in 2001 with only 154 World Cup races. The exclusive members also include Sir Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel (see box).

Max Verstappen, already 180 races old, will be the youngest member – and also the last? Of the current generation, the club from the fifties (with the best car like Red Bull) is actually only trusted by Russell and Norris. Both were already 100 races old in Qatar.

Russell with one win so far

Only Russell has won once in Brazil in 2022, Norris has been on the podium twelve times. And we cannot forget Oscar Piastri (22). The sprint winner from Qatar (who does not count for the 50 club) was on the podium twice in the last two races in a McLaren-Mercedes. Of the GP newcomers, only Jackie Stewart, Clay Regazzoni and Lewis Hamilton achieved this!

The example of the unforgettable Ayrton Senna shows how difficult it is to make the leap to the top, even though there are now more races: 41 wins in 161 races. He was not always in the best car and then had a teammate like Prost. The Brazilian started at Toleman and when he joined world champion Williams in 1994, he had a fatal accident in the third race (Imola).

The happiness of the losers of the season

The two losers in 2023 are clear: Sergio Pérez (33, Mexico) at Red Bull and Logan Sargeant (22, USA) at Williams. Both are fortunate that their home races Austin/Las Vegas and Mexico are still on the calendar. As a team you do not want to cause unrest in the country.

Interesting that there is suddenly talk on the internet about Pérez’s resignation – despite a contract for 2024. But does Pérez want to be humiliated by Verstappen again?

Crash-Sargeant knows that the performance is below par and a replacement by Felipe Drugovich (Br, F2 champion 2022) is getting closer. For Mick Schumacher (24), the dream (“I want to become world champion”) will always remain a big dream!

Source : Blick