Max Verstappen chasing F1 title and Michael Schumacher record

Verstappen could wrap up the championship at the next round in Singapore

Max Verstappen’s victory in the Italian Grand Prix left him on the verge of one of the most dominant Formula One world title wins of all time.

Charles Leclerc led Verstappen by two seconds at Monza when Sebastian Vettel broke down after a dozen laps and the virtual safety car was deployed.

Leclerc dived into the pits in the hope of making his rubber last to the end, but 125,000 Ferrari hearts sunk in Monza as the Monegasque was forced to concede the lead when he stopped for a second time.

Their hopes were revived when a safety car was sent out on lap 46 of 53 after Daniel Ricciardo stopped in his McLaren.

But the marshals could not clear Ricciardo’s McLaren before the end, and the race effectively finished behind the safety car to boos from the Ferrari fans.

Verstappen took his fifth win in a row, his 11th from 16 this season, and extended his championship lead to 116 points with just six rounds remaining.

The Red Bull driver could wrap up the championship in Singapore on 2 October if he wins and his nearest rivals fail to pick up enough points to stay in touch.

Verstappen has won 11 races out of 16 this season and leads second-placed Charles Leclerc by 116 points heading to Singapore, the first of the six remaining races.

There will be a possible 138 points available in the five races after that – five race wins at 25 points each, a fastest lap point at each and eight points for the sprint race winner in Sao Paulo – so with his unassailable advantage in race wins Verstappen will need to add 22 to his lead to wrap it up at the first opportunity.

That requires victory in Singapore and would also realistically need Leclerc not to finish. The six points for a seventh-placed finish would keep the Frenchman within range and even eighth, and four points, would be enough if Verstappen does not post the fastest lap.

That would also leave Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, next in the standings, needing third place – or fourth with the fastest lap – to stay in touch.

Fourth-placed George Russell would be out of contention – the Mercedes ace could match Verstappen’s points total if he finished second with a fastest lap, but without a race win all season he could not make up the difference on countback.

Michael Schumacher won the 2002 title with six races to spare (Tom Hevezi/PA) (PA Archive)

Only once has the title been won with more than five races to spare, Michael Schumacher’s 2002 success with six remaining.

Nigel Mansell won it with five to spare in 1992 and, while the ever-changing number of races makes comparisons across eras difficult, Verstappen would join the Englishman in second by that measure.

Each of those wins came in race 11 of the season, a 17-race campaign for Schumacher and 16 for Mansell. Schumacher, twice, and Sebastian Vettel have won titles with four races to spare.

Verstappen’s first chance comes in race 17 of 22 and would be the earliest in seasons of at least 20 races. There have been six such campaigns previously, three won by Lewis Hamilton with two races to spare and the others going down to the final race – won by Vettel in 2012, Nico Rosberg in 2016 and Verstappen himself last season.

Max Verstappen holds a dominant lead over Charles Leclerc, right (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)

The Dutchman has won 77.5 per cent of the available points this season and could be on course for only the fourth three-figure winning margin in F1 – though again, different point systems play their part in that, with the previous three belonging to Vettel (155 points in 2013 and 122 in 2011) and Hamilton (124 points in 2020).

A fairer comparison is the percentage lead and Verstappen, currently with 53 per cent more points than Leclerc, is on record pace by that measure.

Mansell, and Jacques Villeneuve five years later, won with just over 48 per cent more points than their nearest challengers. Schumacher, Jackie Stewart and Juan Manuel Fangio exceeded a 40 per cent winning margin twice each.