Max Verstappen continues to carry out at a stage which no person can contact as he goals for a 3rd consecutive Formulation 1 world championship.

Two-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen achieved his forty first profession Formulation 1 victory in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, bringing him stage with legendary three-time world champion Ayrton Senna in fifth place on the all-time wins listing.

Whereas Sunday’s 70-lap race across the 14-turn, 2.71-mile (4.361-kilometer) street course noticed the closest on-track margin between Verstappen and the following highest non-Pink Bull driver this season, it was nonetheless a race that was by no means unsure for the motive force who continues to construct upon an already huge lead within the standings.

Verstappen has not completed decrease than second place by the season’s first eight races, of which he has gained six, and he has now gained 4 races in a row, marking the second time he has achieved such a feat since final summer time.

It’s onerous to imagine that just some races in the past, Sergio Perez was the betting favourite to remove the championship lead from his teammate, ending any hope of Verstappen changing into the primary wire-to-wire world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2015.

Some even went so far as saying that that Perez had the benefit over his teammate on the planet championship battle, a battle during which he seemed to grow to be a modern-day model of 2016 Nico Rosberg.

Since then, Verstappen has scored 102 of a most 104 factors, and Perez has scored 39. He went from ninth to first in Miami, snatching the lead from Perez within the closing laps, and has led each lap since in three further races. With eight races within the books, he hasn’t spent any time decrease than first place since race quantity 5.

He has led 224 straight laps, which is greater than one-third of his career-high laps led whole for a single season. Be mindful, he gained a mixed 25 races in 2021 and 2022, breaking the all-time single season wins document in 2022 with 15.

And since dropping that lead exterior Exhausting Rock Stadium, Perez has only one podium end in 4 races — and never a single Q3 look in three qualifying periods throughout which Verstappen has scored pole.

Realistically, Max Verstappen by no means noticed Sergio Perez as a risk over the course of a 22-race Formulation 1 season.

Whereas quite a bit can occur with 14 races remaining on the schedule, Perez has achieved completely nothing to recommend that he can outrun his teammate.

As of late, Perez appears to be like like he could not even have the ability to safe a career-high second place end on the planet championship, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton beginning to creep nearer within the standings.

Perez gained in Jeddah after Verstappen was compelled to start out in fifteenth place following a driveshaft failure in qualifying, and he gained in Baku after inheriting the lead as a result of a well timed security automotive which knocked Verstappen from the lead again to 3rd place.

These are the kinds of issues which have wanted to occur for Perez to beat Verstappen in any respect this yr. With out them, Verstappen is just on one other stage.

Perez’s common end post-Miami is 8.67, and he doesn’t have a single podium end throughout that span. That’s a fairly fascinating stretch for a driver who was mentioned to have the “benefit” over a driver whom some nonetheless laughably declare is “solely successful due to the automotive”.

Perez was overwhelmed by Alonso, Hamilton, and each Ferrari drivers in Montreal, and he would have been overwhelmed by Mercedes’ George Russell if not for Russell’s uncharacteristic error.

Verstappen has six wins — Perez’s profession whole — this yr alone whereas Perez has simply 4 prime two finishes. The sum of Perez’s outcomes over the past three races is 26. It’s important to return 14 races for Verstappen’s outcomes to succeed in that tally.

This isn’t to say that Perez isn’t a top quality driver. However maintaining with Verstappen isn’t as simple as merely driving an RB19, as the previous few races have proven. Beating him as soon as doesn’t equate to successful a world championship, although the problem of doing so could make it really feel like that when it occurs.

What Verstappen is doing principally equates to enjoying F1 23 on simple mode. He’s an elite expertise in an elite Adrian Newey-designed automotive, and there may be at the moment no different mixture that may come near matching it, barring some fluke mishap.

Even over the course of Formulation 1 historical past, this mixture would maintain its personal in opposition to any. Assume again to Mercedes’ dominance just some years in the past, particularly Hamilton’s dominance throughout that period. Even probably the most adorned driver in Formulation 1 historical past by no means gained greater than 11 races in a season.

Coming off of a 15-win marketing campaign, Verstappen is already at six, simply previous the one-third level of the 2023 schedule.

Verstappen has by no means cared in regards to the critics or the boos, and he definitely hasn’t cared in regards to the manufactured headlines or quotes about his teammate having the benefit — or him “wanting Perez changed”. 4 races — and 4 wins — faraway from these remarks, that has by no means been clearer.