Verstappen eyes Prost and Vettel victories record

Max Verstappen believes he can surpass Alan Prost and Sebastian Vettel's victory records, having achieved his 49th Formula 1 win in Qatar.

The Dutchman sealed his third Drivers' World Championship during the Sprint race with a second place, while he went on to take his 14th victory of the season during the Grand Prix.

Prost achieved 51 wins during his career, while Vettel hit 53 victories by the time he retired at the end of the 2022 season.

Further ahead of Vettel would be Michael Schumacher with his 91 victories and Lewis Hamilton, who has the all-time record of 103 wins in F1.

Verstappen still plans to race up until the end of the 2028 season, which would enable him to get close to the all-time wins list if he continues his current form.

"I know that from third place to second is quite a big gap. I hope maybe in my career I might end up somewhere there in the middle - that would be nice," he told media, including RacingNews365.

"But I don't know, it depends a lot on what's going to happen in the next few races and the next few years as well. I don't know how long this is going to last.

"I'm enjoying the moment and I think that's also very important. I’ve achieved more than I could have ever even dreamed of, or set any goals that I wanted to achieve in F1, right? So I'm loving the moment."

No change in approach

Verstappen has already surpassed Vettel's record for most consecutive wins, while Red Bull also sealed its sixth Constructors' title at the Japanese GP.

When asked whether he plans to change his approach in the final five races, he responded: "Not really. For example, in the Sprint I only needed to score three points to win the championship but I still wanted to win.

"When I go to the next race I will try to win again because we have a great car.

"I know that people around us are catching up maybe a little bit, so here and there, it becomes quite tight, but the mindset is pretty much the same.

"I mean, it's not like suddenly you go more risky in any kind of battle. I think I'm quite happy with what I'm doing at the moment."