Around the world, millions of people turn on their TVs every weekend to watch Formula 1, a sport where 20 of the best drivers and their teams compete for a world championship. Currently, Formula 1 has been dominated by 26-year-old Max Verstappen, a Dutch driver representing Red Bull Racing.  

  Verstappen has won 3 championships so far, including this season, and has had a long history of achievements so far in his career. Red Bull Racing also has a good history of success, and so far, Verstappen and his team have seemed to be unstoppable. 

   According to the website motorsportstats.com, in this current season Max has achieved a total of 19 wins out of 22 races, a win percentage of 86% throughout the season, an astounding number considering how difficult it can be for drivers to even win one race. Max has accumulated a total of 575 points alone, which for comparison, the second-place team of Mercedes has 409 with both drivers. Not only that, but Verstappen was able to win the championship with 6 races to go before the season would end. 

   Of course, people have different opinions regarding his dominance. Junior Elio Gioni stated, “Max Verstappen’s dominance has a lot to do with to the Red Bull F1 car that they have developed, which has shown to be very quick.”  

    Junior Joseph Torres says his dad would always ask who was winning the race, and Joseph would almost always respond with “Max”. He says Max’s season has been very impressive. 

   One reason why Max has been able to do so well has to do with the car he’s driving. In Formula 1, teams are responsible for designing a car to be as quick as possible around the track, and Red Bull this year has designed a car that looks to be faster than other teams’ cars. Another reason could be the lack of competition that Max has been facing, with no driver having the car to consistently challenge him for the championship. 

   One question, however, is whether or not this kind of domination is good for F1. Elio Gioni says, “This kind of domination has been good and bad. While Red Bull has been showing they have a good car and dominating, the other teams don’t have a chance to reach the podium or the top spot.”  

    Matthew Argote stated, “It’s not good because it’s unfair for the other drivers and teams, and they don’t get the chance to win races.”