Formula 1: Max Verstappen could pull off historical feat achieved only once

Max Verstappen is in the midst of an exceptional Formula 1 season. But it could get even better, as he has a chance to pull off a historical feat achieved only once.

Since Formula 1 began back in 1950, a total of 764 drivers have competed in at least one race, and a total of 1,009 races have been contested. In the sport’s 70th season, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen has a chance to achieve what only one of them has achieved, and only one time.

The start of Verstappen’s 2018 season was riddled with mistakes. But after his practice crash for the Monaco Grand Prix robbed of a chance to qualify for the race on the front row and perhaps win it, he has been practically flawless.

A total of 27 races have been contested since last year’s Monaco Grand Prix. Verstappen has been forced to retire from only two of these races with mechanical issues, and he hasn’t been forced to retire since the Hungarian Grand Prix last July. He is currently on a 21-race streak of top five finishes, and not including his two retirements, that 21 would be a 25.

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He has collected four victories and an additional 11 podium finishes in this 27-race span, including three victories and an additional nine podium finishes since he was last forced to retire more than a year ago. Pertaining to the 2019 season alone, he has had by far his best year yet, and that could propel him to do something that has been done just once before and not since 2002.

Through the first 12 races of the 21-race season, the 21-year-old Dutchman sits in third place in the driver standings with 181 points. He only trails Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport teammates Lewis Hamilton (250 points) and Valtteri Bottas (188 points).

A total of 749 laps were scheduled to be contested through the season’s first 12 races, although only 746 were actually contested since the 67-lap German Grand Prix, a race Verstappen won, was shortened to 64 laps due to rain.

Verstappen has completed each and every one of these 746 laps.

If he completes each and every one of the 517 laps that remain on the schedule over the course of the season’s final nine races, he would become just the second driver in Formula 1 history to complete every lap in an entire season.

Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher pulled this off in the 2002 season, and he did it with 17 podium finishes, including 11 victories, in 17 races. He locked up his fifth championship this season with an all-time record six races remaining on the schedule and ended the season having completed all 1,090 of the laps that were contested in it.

Aside of the fact that he likely won’t win the championship barring a massive collapse by Hamilton, Verstappen pulling this off with 21 top five finishes in 21 races would be the next best thing to pulling off what Schumacher pulled off.

Hamilton has also completed each and every one of these 746 laps, so it will be interesting to see if perhaps he and Verstappen can pull off this historical feat and end the season with 1,263 laps completed.

While Hamilton has won eight races so far this season and Verstappen has only won two, Hamilton has recorded a non-top five finish. He finished in ninth place in what was an incident-riddled German Grand Prix for him.

Will Max Verstappen end the 2019 Formula 1 season with 1,263 laps completed to become just the second driver in Formula 1 history and the first in the last 17 seasons to complete each and every one of a season’s laps?