Max Verstappen could match AYRTON SENNA record this weekend: Canada GP stats pack

Canadian Grand Prix

Verstappen could match SENNA record this weekend: Canada GP stats pack

The Dutchman is set for another win, which would put him on par with the great Brazilian driver

Sundaram Ramaswami

Thursday 15 June 2023 19:27

Max Verstappen has the chance to equal the great Ayrton Senna’s record for career wins this weekend in Montreal, should he maintain his streak of 2023 race wins.

The Dutchman will be hoping to replicate his 2022 victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as Mercedes nip at his heels, with Lewis Hamilton historically performing well in Canada.

Yet it is McLaren that has scored more wins in Montreal than any other F1 team, piling pressure on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to deliver points for the ailing British team.

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Will Hamilton return to the Montreal top spot for the first time since 2019? Or will Verstappen join the late, great Brazilian driver on 41 career wins?

Here are the key stats you need to know for this weekend…

Verstappen may equal Senna’s record, but Perez unlikely to challenge

If the Dutchman emerges victorious at the Canadian GP, it would mark his 41st career win, placing him on par with Ayrton Senna for fifth on the list of most F1 victories.

Verstappen is currently on a streak of 154 laps in the lead. Should he lead all 70 laps this weekend, he would climb to fifth place on the list of most consecutive laps led in F1.

Max Verstappen is on a hot streak after winning the Spanish Grand Prix

It would also become the longest such streak since Nigel Mansell (235 laps) in 1992.

Despite Verstappen’s potential dominance, his Red Bull team-mate does not count Canada among his better tracks.

Sergio Perez has never managed to qualify higher than eighth in Montreal, and his most recent points-scoring finish here dates back to 2017.

Dominant Red Bull could make team history in Canada

This weekend, Red Bull could also become the third team in F1 history to win all of the first eight races in a season. McLaren (1988) and Mercedes (2019) are the only other teams to have done so before.

Victory in Canada would make it Red Bull’s ninth consecutive win, matching their previous record set in 2013 and 2022. It would be only the eighth instance of a constructor securing a streak of nine or more wins in F1.

Mercedes: Can Hamilton make some magic in Montreal?

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one of Hamilton’s better tracks, having started from the top-five every single time.

He has also stood on the podium whenever he’s finished here, barring once (P5 in 2018). Last year, he took third.

Lewis Hamilton scored a podium finish in Canada last year

If Hamilton emerges victorious this time, it would mark his eighth win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve which would equal the record for the most wins by a driver at a single circuit.

Could Leclerc turn fortunes around for struggling Ferrari?

Charles Leclerc has a 100 per cent scoring streak in Canada. With the Scuderia desperately in need of a positive result, will he be able to bring home a podium?

Aston Martin’s Stroll is on a roll

Canadian Lance Stroll has scored in three of his four home races. The only other Canadian driver to score on more occasions at home is Gilles Villeneuve himself, with four.

Lance Stroll has scored points in three of his home races in Canada

In the event that Stroll accumulates seven or more points this weekend, he would surpass Jacques Villeneuve as the Canadian driver with the highest number of points scored in F1.

Veteran Alonso joins F1 greats

Fernando Alonso will participate in his 18th Canadian GP, joining the ranks of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello as the drivers with the highest number of appearances at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Spaniard's most recent top-5 finish in Canada came in 2013.

Tsunoda sticks around in changeable AlphaTauri lineup

Yuki Tsunoda is set to mark his 50th F1 race this weekend. Knowing the team's tendency to chop and change, Tsunoda becomes the first driver since Carlos Sainz (between 2015 and 2017) to start 50 consecutive races for the junior Red Bull team since his debut.

Yuki Tsunoda will mark his 50th race in Canada this weekend

Alpine: Ocon’s perfect record on the line

Esteban Ocon has maintained a perfect scoring streak at the Canadian GP, scoring points in every race he has competed in at this circuit. Will the Alpine driver be able to hold onto the streak this weekend?

Haas: Magnussen starved of points in Canada

Kevin Magnussen's last points-scoring finish in Canada dates back to 2014. In contrast, his Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg has scored in every Canadian race since 2014.