Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen felt “incredibly proud” after a record-breaking win at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The Dutchman claimed his 14th victory in 2022 on Sunday to move one ahead of Michael Schumacher in 2004 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013 for the most wins in a single season.
Verstappen also now holds the record for most points scored in a single season with 416, three more than Lewis Hamilton managed in 2019.
“I never thought I would be able to win 14 races in a year,” the Red Bull driver said “But of course, incredibly proud.”
14 wins in a season ? @Max33Verstappen makes #F1 history ? pic.twitter.com/GCYKdX1Gro
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 30, 2022
On his points total, he added: “We have a sprint race in Brazil so hopefully we can score a few more, but I mean it’s not about that.
“At the end of the day it’s about trying to win a championship, and it doesn’t matter by how many points you do it. But it does show we are having an incredible year!”
Sunday’s race turned into a bit of a procession in Mexico, as Verstappen held the lead at the start and slowly eked away from Lewis Hamilton in second.
With Max and Red Bull opting for an aggressive tyre strategy, Mercedes was hoping a second pit-stop or degradation would bring the Briton back into play.
But instead, the 25-year-old used his underrated tyre management skills to control the pace until the end.
“Quite early on we figured that we could make it to the end,” he explained.
“We knew that that first stint was going to be the crucial one for us to keep that soft tyre alive long enough, which seemed to work.
“I did struggle a bit towards the end, but luckily the gap was big enough to extend a few laps. Once we put on the medium tyres, everything was working quite well.”
For the second straight year, Verstappen was joined on the Mexico podium by teammate Sergio Perez in third, much to the delight of the home crowd.
“They put on a great show, the atmosphere is incredible with the fans,” Max noted. “They are super passionate about Formula 1 – but of course, about Checo!
“It also helps a lot that you have that whole stadium. It makes it look incredible. It’s a great atmosphere.”