Verstappen staggered by win tally as he surpasses Vettel

Max Verstappen secured his 54th win at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to pass Sebastian Vettel's tally.

Verstappen is now third all-time in race wins behind only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, ranking him among the most successful in the sport's history.

A bulk of the Dutchman's wins came during the past campaign as he dominated the season en route to his third title, winning 19 out of the 22 races staged.

It marked statistically the most dominant season in F1 history as he ended the year with an 86 per cent win-to-race ratio, beating Alberto Ascari's record from 1952.

Speaking prior to achieving his 54th win and passing Vettel, Verstappen told media including RacingNews365: “It's quite a crazy number. But we've also, of course, had a crazy year.

“At the same time also I'm very focused on what's ahead of me and hopefully also next year we have a competitive car again, we can really continue that momentum that we can win more races.”

With so many race victories to choose as his favourite, Verstappen managed to name his best three of the year.

“I think winning the comeback race in Miami I think was great,” he said. “I think that was an important one.

“Winning at home in Zandvoort was a very nice one and I think winning in Suzuka after the tough weekend we had in Singapore.”