Verstappen suffers unwanted first in nearly a decade at Red Bull

Excluding his debut Formula 1 season with Toro Rosso, when he did not have a car capable of challenging for victories, the Dutchman has always claimed at least one win before the summer break, with the sole exception of 2017, when his first victory of the season came at the Malaysian Grand Prix in round 15.

In every other season, Verstappen managed to secure at least one victory before the summer break. In 2016, he famously won on his Red Bull debut in Spain, while in 2018 he took victory at the Austrian Grand Prix on round nine.

A year later, he entered the summer break with two wins already under his belt, having triumphed in Austria and Germany. From 2020 through to 2025, Verstappen continued that trend, winning at least one Grand Prix before the summer break in every season.

Particularly impressive were the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, when Verstappen collected eight, ten and seven victories respectively before the summer break. Those campaigns coincided with the most dominant period of his career, during which he claimed three of his four Formula 1 titles.

Former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe has praised Verstappen's ability to extract more from his machinery than might otherwise appear possible. He acknowledged that assessing Verstappen's performances has sometimes been more difficult this season due to the challenging nature of the RB22. The Dutchman has regularly expressed his frustration over the radio, while teammate Isack Hadjar has also proved more competitive than Verstappen's recent Red Bull teammates.

Despite that, Hinchcliffe believes Verstappen's ability to make the difference remains firmly intact. He pointed to the comparison with Hadjar, noting that the Frenchman has scored only 62% of Verstappen's points despite performing admirably in what is widely regarded as one of the toughest seats in Formula 1.

For the Canadian, several of Verstappen's performances this season have demonstrated the qualities that have defined his career, with Hungary standing out as the clearest example of his ability to extract an unexpected result from a difficult car.