Max Verstappen reacts to matching ‘incredible’ Ayrton Senna win tally : PlanetF1

Equalling Ayrton Senna on 41 F1 grand prix wins as he recorded Red Bull’s 100th victory, Max Verstappen has joked about asking for a new contract from Red Bull.

Prolific at the start of this year’s championship, it became evident earlier this season that it was only a matter of time before Verstappen would secure his 41st race win.

That took place on Sunday at the Canadian Grand Prix where the 25-year-old turned his pole position into a victory, taking the chequered flag nine seconds up the road from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

The win marked Red Bull’s 100th in total with the Milton Keynes squad having gone on a charge this year with eight from eight.

Verstappen joked he should get a new contract for the part he’s played in all of that.

“I have won 41 of [Red Bull’s 100 wins], so we’ll talk about maybe a new contract because of that!” he said.

“No honestly, it’s a great achievement for the team. You know, we knew that this was the first opportunity to do so, and I’m happy that’s done with a hundred.

“But again, I hope we win more than a hundred – so the new target is 200!”

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With his 41st win, Verstappen tied triple World Champion Senna for fifth place on the all-time log behind Alain Prost, Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, who holds the record with 103 victories to date.

“I hate to compare different generations but, from my side, the only thing I can say is that when I was a little kid driving in go-karts, I was dreaming about being a Formula 1 driver, and I would’ve never imagined to win 41 grands prix,” Verstappen said.

“So, of course, to tie with Ayrton is something incredible. I’m proud of that, but of course, I hope it’s not stopping here. I hope that we can keep on winning more races.”

Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull that runs through to the end of the 2028 season and, given Red Bull’s current form, it isn’t inconceivable to think he could challenge Hamilton’s 103 wins or even seven World titles.

His win in Canada saw him extend his advantage at the top of this year’s standings to 69 points with Verstappen seemingly cruising to a third successive title.

Hamilton was asked in the build-up to the Montreal weekend for his thoughts on Verstappen’s record-shattering form and whether he could make a play for the all-time wins and World titles.

“He’s got a very long career ahead of him so absolutely,” he said. “Ultimately, records are there to be broken. And he’s got an amazing team.

“We’ve got to work harder to try and continue to extend it. I hope we get to have some… at least within the last period of time in my career, I hope we get to have some more close racing.”