Amid his record breaking year at the wheel of the Red Bull RB19, Max Verstappen managed to claim 12 pole positions in Formula 1 2023. Remarkably, Verstappen's run of poles only started at the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, with him only achieving two that season and one in 2020 at Abu Dhabi. This year was the most he's had in any season, with the RB19 undoubtably claiming its stake as one of the fastest cars ever seen in F1.
Verstappen: The car felt like it was on rails
Monaco was a special last dash effort to conjure a pole, with the Dutchman admitting that he rode the walls in the final sector to gain time and go 0.065s faster than Fernando Alonso. But it was another circuit that Verstappen felt was his most satisfying, and where he claimed his second pole of his career. "Probably Suzuka. Yeah, I've had a few," he told media, including RacingNews365 . Maybe it didn't count but the one in Spa probably that I enjoyed – those kinds of conditions where you really have to pull it out of the bag. "But yeah, in Suzuka the car was on rails. It was unbelievable to drive. And, you know, while driving, I was smiling and that's quite rare in a qualifying lap."
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