Records to be broken in Japan | Verstappen can count on reliable Red Bull

Verstappen at end of the season to have a bigger lead than Vettel?

Verstappen missed out on the possibility of an interesting milestone with his P5. Red Bull Racing did not finish on the podium for the first time in 2023 and therefore will not achieve 100% podium presence this season. Michael Schumacher remains the only driver to ever do so. The German won 11 races in 2002 and finished all 17 on the podium.

What Verstappen can get done in Japan, however, is the record for the biggest lead over number two in the championship. Currently, the record holder is Sebastian Vettel who was a whopping 155 points ahead of P2, Fernando Alonso, in Brazil in 2013. Verstappen is currently 151 points ahead of Sergio Perez and could therefore set a new record by running out five points on the Mexican.

In addition, there is another list on which Verstappen can climb up a rung in Japan. If Verstappen does not drop out and finishes the race, he will have finished 35 races in a row. This will take him past his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who once managed to finish a maximum of 34 races in a row. With 35 finishes, Verstappen is not yet the record holder. That is currently with Lewis Hamilton with 48 races.

Hamilton has almost completed more laps than Raikkonen

Lewis Hamilton currently stands on a total of 103 wins and 196 podium finishes. The seven-time world champion is one of the most experienced drivers. Not only in titles and victories but also in metres made. Hamilton will pass Kimi Raikkonen on the list of most-driven race laps in Formula 1 at the Japan GP on lap 32. He will then be on P2 with 18,622 laps. On P1 is now Alonso with 20,062 laps.

Hamilton has an impressive track record at the Suzuka Circuit. The Briton has already won the Japan GP five times. With another win this weekend, he equals Schumacher's record of winning the Japanese Grand Prix six times. A podium finish takes Hamilton to his ninth podium in Japan. He then joins Schumacher in terms of podium finishes in Japan. This record does not apply to Suzuka, as Hamilton took one of his Japanese podiums at Fuji Speedway.

Leclerc and Monaco to the 1000 and Norris to questionable honours

For Charles Leclerc and Monaco, there is no record to be broken, but a nice milestone to be achieved. Should Leclerc score nine points or more, the driver will have tapped the point total of 1,000 in his F1 career. On scoring five points or more, Monaco will hit the 1,000 mark. Before Leclerc, Louis Chiron was the first F1 driver from Monaco to grab points. Chiron did so in Monaco in 1950 with a P3 for which he got four points.

Alonso can match Jenson Button's record. The Briton finished fifth no less than 27 times. If Alonso finishes fifth in Japan, he will also be on 27. Finally, if Lando Norris scores six more points than Nico Hulkenberg and does not win the race then the McLaren driver will take the record for most points scored in Japan without ever having won an F1 victory.