Known for his blistering pace and aggressive driving style with his defensive manoeuvres, Verstappen has the third most wins in F1 history with 63. At just 27 years old, he has also achieved 112 podiums and 40 pole positions.
The Dutchman has stamped his authority in F1 in recent years by winning the last four championships consecutively.
Jacky Ickx says drivers might be starting to hate Verstappen due to his dominance, referring to his stunning win from P17 at last year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
| Rank | Driver | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 105 |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher | 91 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | 63 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | 53 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | 51 |
| 6 | Ayrton Senna | 41 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | 32 |
| 8 | Nigel Mansell | 31 |
| 9 | Jackie Stewart | 27 |
| 10 | Jim Clark/Niki Lauda | 25 |
But before the Dutchman emerged on the F1 scene, there was another driver who caught Marko’s attention in the same way.
Getting his first test in F1 machinery in 2002, Vitantonio Liuzzi was handed a test by Red Bull in 2004 after he won the Formula 3000 title.
.The Italian would sign with the team for the following season in what was their first year in F1 after taking over from Jaguar.
Speaking on the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Liuzzi – who made 80 Grand Prix appearances in his career – recalled how he left Marko ‘super excited’ during his Formula 3000 days with his speed and fearlessness behind the wheel.
The 44-year-old feels that he and Verstappen share similar traits that the Austrian liked in a driver:
“I think Max had a similar characteristic of mine. I remember when I signed with Red Bull, Dr Marko put me in a Formula 3000 car right after the Formula 1 test,” he said.
“And the Formula 3000 car, at the time they were massively physical, super heavy to drive, and yeah I was not physically ready.
“I remember in a high-speed corner with more than 230-240, I did a spin, 360 and I kept going. I came back to the box and said: ‘Wow, physically I struggled’ but then I went back again.
“I did a similar thing and Dr Marko was super excited that I was not fearing that the feeling, I was not scared about what happened and that I could have crashed, but I still went for it because my own aim was to be the fastest on track.
“And I think this is some similarity from me and Max that he liked”.
Joining Red Bull in 2005, it was widely expected that Liuzzi would partner David Coulthard, but the team opted to sign Christian Klien, leaving the Italian as their test driver.
However, the Milton Keynes-based outfit agreed to let both Liuzzi and Klien race, with the former making four appearances in 2005.
Liuzzi scored points on debut in San Marino before heading his seat back to Klien in Canada.
After Red Bull bought Minardi in 2006 and rebranded it to Toro Rosso, Liuzzi was named their number one driver and spent two years with the team, scoring four points.
The Italian departed in 2008 and went on to race for the likes of Force India and Hispania before leaving F1 in 2012. He went on to race GT cars, as well as competed in WEC and Formula E.
