Coming off of a victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen again proved that he is a force to be reckoned with in the world of F1. The two-time champion delivered a cool and calm victory, showing just how good at this sport he really is.
Let's take a look at why Verstappen usually has the best odds at bookmakers like BoyleSports, with a gander at his best races so far from his illustrious 8 season career, starting with his most recent display in japan.
Japan, 2022
Verstappen came to japan as the favourite to walk away with the title and needed either the victory and fastest lap or at least hope that Charles Leclerc would place third or lower. He managed to acknowledge that favourite spot by taking pole position over Leclerc by an incredibly small margin - just 0.0a0 seconds.
The rain poured in on Sunday as well and both teams started with intermediates. Verstappen charged into the lead and Leclerc tried a desperate surge to catch up, but the race ended up being red-flagged two laps in.
After quite a lengthy delay the race was on again and Verstappen came in like a thunderbolt with relentless pace - in the 28-lap race, he won by a staggering 27 seconds. Leclerc managed to bag himself a penalty post-race which all but sealed the result. But that penalty shouldn't detract from Verstappen's amazing display during some of the harshest weather.
United States, 2021
It all came down to the last three laps at COTA, when Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen went head-to-head. This was the message that Hamilton received as Verstappen started bearing in on him after his second pout stop.
Verstappen had a bad start to the race and was catching up to Hamilton on the infamous tyre-destroying surface. Using sheer skill on the tricky bends, Verstappen put on a display of sheer class when he managed to take the lead on Hamilton with five solid laps remaining, walking away the winner of the United States Grand Prix.
Netherlands, 2021
This race was Verstappen's first home Grand Prix, so he had the pressure of the whole nation on him. It was a big one as well - Zandvoort was making an appearance and Red Bull's secret weapon was finding himself pitted against the colossus of Mercedes and Hamilton.
Would he crumble? No, he would not. Verstappen used the momentum of the crowds in the stand, charging furiously to pole position whilst the stands were awash with orange. The two Mercedes drivers were barely visible in the mirror - Hamilton was 20 seconds behind whilst Valtteri Bottas came in almost a full minute later!
Spain, 2016
A race that's incredibly well known in the community, Spain saw the then 18-year-old Verstappen make his debut for Red Bull. This almost shocking move - benching Kvyat and putting an 18-year-old in the spotlight had both its supporters and haters, with people voicing their opinions all over social media.
The two rivals for the title in the race - Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided, which gave Verstappen an opportunity he seized. Upon the safety car restart lined up in second place. Verstappen kept his ground by using a two-stop strategy and even managed to stave off a late race charge from Raikkonen to land a victory on his debut for Red Bull - also managing to snatch the title for the youngest ever person to win an F1 race!
Brazil, 2016
Yes, we're putting in a race where Verstappen only got third place on the list - but the amazing performance that he put in has to be mentioned. The 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix was something special and the drive that Verstappen made was something you only see once in a lifetime.
The weather was incredibly bad, which makes his race all the more spectacular. Saving a race-ending spin, incredibly brave passes of Raikonnen and Rosberg or the fact he recovered 16th place all the way to 3rd in 16 laps whilst having to stop for fresh tyres for the fifth time, many people say it was this race that got people to take him seriously and realise his win in Spain wasn't a fluke.
