Formula 1: Why doesn’t Max Verstappen’s Silverstone win count?
By Asher Fair
Max Verstappen has won a full-length Formula 1 race at Silverstone Circuit before, but he is still seeking his first British Grand Prix victory.
Two-time reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen is entering unfamiliar territory ahead of this Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
Silverstone Circuit is one of only three tracks among those on the schedule in both 2021 and 2022 where he did not win en route to securing the world championships.
The Red Bull driver has won at the 18-turn, 3.661-mile (5.892-kilometer) road course before, however, and he won a full-length 52-lap Formula 1 Grand Prix at the track.
So why does Max Verstappen officially have zero British Grand Prix victories?
Verstappen’s win at the track came back in the 2020 season, which saw its calendar drastically overhauled as a result of COVID-19-related restrictions.
As a result, Silverstone Circuit hosted two races instead of its usual one, but only one officially counted as that year’s British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton won that race for Mercedes en route to winning his seventh world title. The race won by the Dutchman was officially called the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.
It still counts as a Formula 1 Grand Prix victory, but it does not make him a former British Grand Prix winner.
The same is true when the Red Bull Ring hosted two races in 2020 and 2021. Valtteri Bottas won the Austrian Grand Prix in 2020, but Hamilton’s victory in the Styrian Grand Prix, despite coming at the same track, doesn’t count as an Austrian Grand Prix victory. So he is a one-time, not a two-time, Austrian Grand Prix winner.
Likewise, Verstappen is a five-time winner at the Red Bull Ring, but only a four-time Austrian Grand Prix winner, as one of his two wins at the track in 2021 came in the Styrian Grand Prix.
The same concept is also true for countries that host multiple races at different tracks. For example, there is only one United States Grand Prix per year, despite the fact that there are now three races in the United States on the schedule.
Verstappen’s two Miami victories don’t count toward his United States Grand Prix win total, since Circuit of the Americas is the host of the official United States Grand Prix. His two Imola victories also don’t count toward his Italian Grand Prix total, since Monza is the host of the official Italian Grand Prix.
Officially, Verstappen has an uncharacteristically low two podium finishes in eight British Grand Prix starts and an average finish of only 8.9. He missed out on an opportunity to win the race in 2021 due to contact with Hamilton on the opening lap, and he missed out on an opportunity to win the race in 2022 due to bodywork damage from debris off another car.
His average finish of 13.5 at Silverstone Circuit since 2021 is his lowest among all tracks during that span.
FanDuel Sportsbook, which is now offering fans an instant $200 just for signing up and betting $20, lists Verstappen, who is currently riding a five-race winning streak, as the -290 favorite to win this year’s British Grand Prix.
All-time Formula 1 wins list. dark. Next
ESPN2 is set to broadcast the British Grand Prix live from Silverstone Circuit starting at 9:55 a.m. ET this Sunday, July 9. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss it!