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It’s nine on the spin for Max. Even two separate downpours of blustery rain across the sand dunes of Zandvoort – and a late red flag – could not send the flying Dutchman off route. Victory at the Dutch Grand Prix saw Verstappen leave where he left off before the summer break: the faultless displays of driving just keep on coming. It was a victory which put him level with Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine Formula 1 wins in a row. Alberto Ascari achieved the same in 1952-1953, though is technically written out of the record books after not entering the Indianapolis 500, which was part of the drivers’ championship back then. Verstappen will be eyeing a record-breaking 10th win this weekend at Monza. Vettel, now retired but as ever a man with a wise foresight, saw it coming a few months back. “I think at five wins in a row or something, Seb text me and said ‘well done, keep it up’ and something like ‘you’re going to do it’”, Verstappen revealed, after qualifying on Saturday. “It’s not something I have constantly [thought] like ‘I need to do this.’ I’m not in this sport to try and break records. I’m just here to win in the moment.” Though seemingly not focused on records himself, in the end Verstappen could not avoid the talk. While No 10 seems almost an inevitability this coming Sunday, the joint record-holders for the time being pose an interesting thought: whose streak – set at the heights of their career for the same Red Bull team – is more impressive? First, to Vettel. His 2013 win-streak saw him propel to a fourth consecutive drivers’ title – a feat Verstappen will now have half-an-eye on for 2024. The German won the last nine races of the 2013 season, from Belgium to Brazil, squashing Fernando Alonso’s hopes of an inaugural Ferrari crown in the process. Alonso, incidentally, was also runner-up on Sunday in Zandvoort; why is it that the Spaniard always emerges second-best? There is an argument Vettel’s aura of supremacy at the end of the season – just when he needed it – gives him an edge over Verstappen’s current run, with the Dutchman’s world title long wrapped up. Peaking and winning when championships are firmly on the line, against a playing field more level in performance, is the ultimate sign of superiority. That being said, he did secure the world title in race six of his nine wins, in India, with the pressure off for the final three races. As for Verstappen, his win-streak started in Miami in May when he overtook team-mate Sergio Perez in the closing laps for victory. He has not looked back. Even on occasions where he hasn’t started on pole – such as Hungary and Belgium – his ascent to the front has been rapid. No car can compete with Verstappen’s RB19 race-pace, to the extent that by and large no driver is even trying to fend off the Dutchman. The weather is not playing the part hoped, either, for the rest of the grid. Since Azerbaijan in April, every race weekend has seen rain fall. Usually a pointer for unpredictability, Verstappen has not been derailed by any in-race chaos, as shown in Zandvoort on Sunday. As well as the machinery, Red Bull’s strategy is more efficient than the rest of the pack too. But while his numbers are currently impressive, the forecast looks even more overbearing. Verstappen is on track to become the first driver to win over 80% of races in a single season, with Ascari’s 75% in 1952 (when there were only eight races) the current benchmark. His two-out-of-three wins in sprint races – as well as six out of 13 extra points for the fastest lap – means he has won nearly 94% of total points available. That’s 339 out of a possible 362 – a staggering statistic. “It’s something I never thought was possible,” said Verstappen upon matching Vettel’s record. But Verstappen is redefining what is possible, failing to put a foot wrong on his relentless march to this season’s championship. The margin of victory in most of the races points to a driver and team who are simply unstoppable. A 10th victory in a row will overtake Vettel’s tally – and he could secure the title as early as Japan at the end of September. It has left the rest of the grid concerningly looking ahead. Will Red Bull be the first team ever to win every race in a single season? Will Verstappen’s domination continue all the way until the next set of regulations, in 2026? Time will tell, but it will take some reversal from the challengers to swing the pendulum back in their favour. Read More Toto Wolff insists George Russell’s loss of form is a ‘myth’ Max Verstappen’s achievements are still underestimated, says rival Max Verstappen survives dramatic rain chaos to claim record-equalling victory at Dutch GP F2 champion Felipe Drugovich to feature for Aston Martin at Italian Grand Prix Toto Wolff insists George Russell’s loss of form is a ‘myth’ Christian Horner hails ‘untouchable’ Max Verstappen as best driver in the world

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It’s Saturday night in Sin City, 9pm local time. One hour until lights out. Walking out of the media centre, across Tuscany Suites and Casino car park and up through the various security checkpoints, you arrive at the highly-coveted, yet strangely downplayed open space that is the Formula 1 paddock. Halfway down, between the garages of Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo, lies the grid access lane: a portal to the chaos forthcoming. There is a chill in the air. A cool 15C temperature which, told all week, is about to play havoc with tyres in the 50 laps ahead. A pause for breath and then the steel-faced American bodyguard gives the go-ahead. On you stroll, pretending you belong here. Welcome to the curiously flummoxing experience that is the F1 pre-race grid. And this is not any old grid. This is Las Vegas: F1’s newest super-venue, where no multi-million-dollar expense has been spared (save a manhole cover or two). In the near-distance are 20 cars all lined up in order, with at least a dozen mechanics and engineers per car. And in the gaps in-between lie everyone else – the VIPs, the executives and the media – relishing or reeling in the madness of it all. Forty minutes until lights out. Effectively, there are two choices as a grid bystander: stay at the front of the pack, scrummaged in the melee to catch a glimpse of the A-listers, or head speedily to the back of the start-finish straight to rise up for air. Your route? By any means necessary. Down the middle, tiptoeing down the sides, most likely a zigzagging of both. Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll trots down alongside his wife to the back where his son Lance starts in 19th. He exchanges a joke with Sky Sports grid walk pioneer Martin Brundle: “Don’t bother me today!” he says. Brundle, sporting a striking dark blue jacket for Vegas’ F1 reincarnation, laughs as he awaits his cue from a producer in his ear. This is his terrain. He may well hate this, but Brundle is now best known for his memorable grid-walk encounters as opposed to his 15-year racing career. It started in 1997, when ITV first gained the rights from the BBC for F1 in the UK and executive producer Neil Dunacson first floated the idea. Before that, attempts to encapsulate the pre-race frivolities to audiences at home were caught up in old-school Formula One Management red-tape. Yet as Bernie Ecclestone took the sport into the 21st century so the broadcasting access expanded – and Martin’s grid walk era was born. He was said to be reluctant at first. Now it is his unorthodox home away from home. A plethora of TV companies have followed suit. Today, we’ll let Martin and the rest of them get on with it. It is a striking juxtaposition of the grid: while the pressure is high on broadcasters to keep viewers entertained with minute-by-minute soundbites, the written media can stand back and absorb this whole… thing. Whatever this is. Mulling around, with no real purpose other than the process of mulling around. Looking at the grandstands to the side, ticket-holding F1 fans record and capture every moment and you think to yourself in the real, morally just world, they’re probably more deserving of this spot than you. Nonetheless, on you go. Engineers sit in the cockpit, toying with the complex intricacies of these 220mph machines, revving the engines so brashly it is hard to hear yourself speak. It is a baffling mish-mash of car-staring, celebrity-glancing and photograph-taking. “Portrait or landscape?” I ask one VIP couple, who request a photo in front of Daniel Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri. “Let’s do both” comes the response. Those “very important people” are signified with a pink pass dangling around their neck. But the real celebs are simply identifiable by the hordes of people around them, people desperate for that picture which will deliver hundreds upon thousands of likes on Instagram. They come in all shapes and sizes: DJ Steve Aoki, model Paris Hilton, LIV rebel golfer Ian Poulter. And, towering menacingly over them all, seven-foot-plus NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal. Fifteen minutes until lights out. Stumbling towards the front, a gap opens up around the outside of Charles Leclerc’s pole-sitting Ferrari, before it’s blocked off again. Instead, head down, you attempt to carve your own racing line through the chaos down the middle and bang: you’re in the shot of Brundle’s conversation with one star or another. Quick, act natural: hurry on through. As is procedure, the home national anthem of the Star-Spangled Banner rings out. A loud horn then blares indicating a quickening of proceedings. Walking back into midfield again, you saunter past FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Is there any occasion he does not miss? Today I feel… Formula 1. Bumping into recent interviewee Willy T Ribbs – “howdy partner” – is the last brief interaction. Any conversation on the grid is usually short-lived but now, 10 minutes until lights out, time’s up. FIA personnel rush the lot of you away, herding the cattle to the exit-door. The process now is a delicate balancing act: walk slowly enough to take in every last second yet quick enough to avoid an ear-clipping from the racing bouncers. Mechanics frantically push tyre trolleys through the crowds back to the garages; one Williams staffer swears under his breath. Las Vegas 2023 is a far cry from the tranquillity of yesteryear at Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps. Eventually the grid is cleared and, quick as a flash, it's over. You can breathe. The drivers can breathe. Brief respite before the action out on track. Sharing the spotlight with the stars of yesterday and tomorrow is entertaining. A privilege. A taste of a different world, even if it is as a supporting act loitering in the background. Now though, the food chain is restored. The unparalleled uniqueness and flashiness of the Formula 1 grid is perhaps unmatched in world sport. For half an hour you walk with the stars, real and fake, and then return to normality. But after a build-up saturated in speed and splendour, lights out is finally imminent. You’ve had your time: back to the laptop and coffee machine you go. Read More Christian Horner suggests Las Vegas Grand Prix solution to ‘brutal’ schedule Las Vegas Grand Prix dazzles on debut with usual dose of Max Verstappen reality How Formula 1 cracked America Christian Horner suggests Las Vegas Grand Prix solution to ‘brutal’ schedule ‘It happens’: F1 fail to apologise or issue refunds to Las Vegas fans F1 2023 official calendar: All 23 Grand Prix this year

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