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Max Verstappen has already put together a very successful F1 career. The driver has more than 60 wins to his name, making him the third most successful driver in history (in terms of wins).
He's also been part of the sport for a decade now. This is his 10th year in the sport after he made his debut in 2015. Verstappen has been a Red Bull driver since 2016, winning an F1 race on his first appearance for the team.
In a career that has spanned this long, fortune and sometimes a lack of it is generally a part and parcel of the sport. In this feature, we will take a look at 5 different occasions where Verstappen was fortunate to win a race.
Max Verstappen being fortunate to win a race
#1 2016 F1 Spanish GP
It's safe to say that there was a lot of brilliance involved in Max winning his first-ever race for Red Bull. He fended off three brilliant drivers in Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, and Daniel Ricciardo. Most importantly, this was his first race in the car and he was clearly still getting up to pace with the car.
With that being said, it would be unfair to deny the fact that the driver was a tad lucky that the two Mercedes drivers crashed into each other and were out of the race. If that had not happened, a Red Bull winning a race on performance would have been next to impossible.
#2 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP
Well, this is the first one that comes to mind for many. The decision of the race director to end the safety car period with just one lap left decided not only the race but the championship as well.
Max Verstappen was behind Lewis Hamilton on fresh tires and it all came to Michael Masi pulling the trigger and ending the safety car period one lap prior. Looking back at the race and when this happened, it's safe to say that Max got a bit lucky with this one.
#3 2022 F1 Spanish GP
This was one of the less impressive wins of Verstappen's career because, in all fairness, he should not have won. The driver was in a title battle at this stage with Charles Leclerc, with both Ferrari and Red Bull almost neck and neck in terms of performance.
Charles had secured pole position and started the race from pole. Max was right behind him but a mistake by the driver where he went off track due to a gust of wind meant that he would fall behind George Russell in his Mercedes.
It was at the same time that Verstappen's DRS flap stopped working and the driver just had no way to pull off an overtake. At the same time, Leclerc was ahead and pulling away comfortably. The Ferrari driver pitted for his first stop and was comfortably clear of Verstappen with a gap that was in double digits.
It was at this point that Leclerc's power unit gave up on him. As a result, the Ferrari driver had to retire on the spot while Verstappen was very lucky to win the race.
#4 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP
A race where Max Verstappen got very lucky with the safety car timing. The Red Bull driver started the race on the front row but a very aggressive pass at turn 1 on Charles Leclerc, where he pushed the Ferrari driver wide, led to a 5-second penalty.
This race was also one where Leclerc appeared to have a car capable of fighting the Ferraris for the win.
The Monegasque driver even overtook Verstappen and had established a decent advantage. It all, however, came crashing down when an ill-timed safety car handed the advantage of fresh tires to Verstappen. The Red Bull driver promptly disposed of Leclerc and got the win.
#5 2024 F1 Canadian GP
Arguably another race where a massive gap opened up by Lando Norris was nullified by the ill-timed safety car. Lando's McLaren had the pace on the worn-out intermediate tires as he opened up a massive gap to Max Verstappen.
The ill-timed safety car gave Verstappen the perfect opportunity to pit for tires and turned the race on its head once again. It was at this moment, however, that Verstappen would capitalize and win the race.
