Max Verstappen made clear that he and Red Bull will not drop their momentum levels as they seek more wins, titles and records after he cruised to a majestic victory in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The defending double world champion and runaway leader of this year’s title race produced a crushing performance at the Hungaroring where he came home 33.7 seconds clear of Lando Norris of McLaren.
It was his seventh win in succession, his ninth in 11 races this year and the 44th of his career – and a record 12th consecutive victory for Red Bull as well as their 250th podium finish in Formula One.
“It’s just incredible,” said the 25-year-old Dutchman.
“What we’ve been going through the last few years is just unbelievable and hopefully we can keep this momentum going for a long time.
“Just to work with this whole team is always very enjoyable. Yesterday, for example, we know we have to look into it as always, but we will keep pushing, wanting to do better. But today is just perfect.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who hailed Verstappen’s form, said: “As a young kid, I remember watching McLaren achieving that feat and to think that now we’ve bettered that!
“It’s something the whole team here in Budapest and behind the scenes in Milton Keynes have all worked so hard for and it will mean so much.”
Verstappen’s win lifts him to 281 points and a lead of 110 points in the drivers’ championship ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez while Red Bull have 452 points ahead of Mercedes on 223 in the constructors’ championship.
He added: “Finally, we had a really good start and I am very happy with that. We’ve been working on it quite a bit to try and get a good bite.
“I did and of course I knew I had the inside line so that corner was mine.
“It was just late on the brakes and a heavy car – but luckily it all worked out well. And from there I could do my race and today the car was really quick and enjoyable to drive.”
He added that the team would work more on their upgrades package and performance after a slightly disappointing qualifying when he was beaten to pole by 0.003 seconds, ending a run of five straight poles, by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.
“I think over one lap this weekend it was a bit of a struggle, but maybe that was a good thing! The car was good on any tyre and we could also look after the tyre wear and basically that’s how we created such a big gap today.”
Meanwhile Lando Norris said his time will come this season after the McLaren driver finished runner-up to Red Bull’s dominant Formula One champion Verstappen for the second race in a row.
“If Max retires, or something, then maybe,” he said when asked about a possible breakthrough first win. “At the minute, the guys (Red Bull) are too quick. Unless they make mistakes or something happens.
“I think we’re very happy with the progress we’ve made, to go from where we were four, five races ago, struggling to get out of Q1 (the first phase of qualifying) sometimes, to fighting for poles and fighting for podiums.
“We’ll take it for now, and our time will come later on in the year.”
Red Bull are already turning their focus to next year’s car with both titles as good as won. Other than circuit-specific items, they have no more major upgrades scheduled after Hungary’s.
Verstappen is 110 points clear of his own teammate Sergio Perez after 11 races while Red Bull are 229 ahead of Mercedes in the constructors’ standings.