At the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, Max Verstappen cruised to his fourth victory in the opening six rounds.
Verstappen's closest rival at the time, Charles Leclerc, looked on course for the win before a power unit issue eliminated him from contention midway through the race.
Leclerc entered the grand prix weekend in the championship lead as Ferrari enjoyed a strong start to the new cycle of technical regulations.
However, the Monegasque driver's DNF, coupled with Verstappen's victory saw the Dutchman leap to the top of the drivers' championship.
That occurred on May 22, 2022 and ever since, Verstappen has not been toppled at the head of the standings.
Today marks 1,000 days since Verstappen took over the lead of the drivers' stable, marking the first time any competitor has reached a four-figure milestone.
Verstappen cruised to the F1 titles in 2022 and 2023 but faced stricter competition last year from McLaren and Lando Norris.
However, his strong start to 2024 ensured his lead was untroubled when Red Bull slipped back in the pecking order midway through the campaign.
Verstappen took the record for the most days in the lead of the F1 championship last year, overtaking Michael Schumacher's feat.
The seven-time champion went to the top of the standings after the 2000 US Grand Prix and was not knocked off his perch until Australia, 2003, when David Coulthard displaced him.
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