Formula 1 is a racing series that is considered by most Americans to be relatively uncompetitive, compared to other series such as the NASCAR Cup Series or IndyCar. The races are often "decided" by turn one, and there are two, maybe three, teams with even a remote chance of winning on any given weekend.
Yet it's the Cup Series that has, for the first time in its 78-year history, opened up the 2026 season with the same winner in three consecutive races.
23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick won at Daytona International Speedway, EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway), and Circuit of the Americas (COTA). You have to go back to 2009 to find the most recent instance of a driver even winning back-to-back races to open up the season.
Yet even for as uncompetitive as Formula 1 seems, you have to go all the way back to 2016 to find the most recent instance of a season beginning with the same winner in each of the first three Grands Prix.
F1 stat puts Tyler Reddick dominance into perspective
Nico Rosberg pulled it off that year, and despite the fact that he went on to win the world championship, he actually did briefly lose the points lead to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton later in the year.
Even during Max Verstappen's record-breaking 15-win 2022 season, and his further record-breaking 19-win 2023 season, both seasons produced two different winners in the first three races.
In fact, in 2022, it was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who won two out of three to open things up, with Verstappen winning the other. Verstappen took two of three in 2023, with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez taking the other.
In IndyCar, a series that has long been heralded for its parity (pre-Alex Palou dynasty, at least), it hasn't happened since Scott Dixon pulled it off in 2020. Despite winning just one more race that year, Dixon is one of only three drivers to lead a championship wire-to-wire this century.
And the fact that Reddick scored the trifecta at a Formula 1 venue, of all places, might be the most ironic element of it all.
Reddick is set to try to make it four for four at Phoenix Raceway this weekend. No Cup Series driver has won four straight races since Jimmie Johnson in 2007. The Straight Talk Wireless 500 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 8. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action!