Hamilton breaks Schumacher's record and Verstappen equals Senna

With Max Verstappen's outstanding form, there are interesting shifts in the F1 record lists almost after every race, with a strong race by Lewis Hamilton it gets even more interesting. The Briton broke a record set by Michael Schumacher at the Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton breaks Schumacher record

Mercedes got off to a poor start in 2023, but has since secured a podium after only three races this year. The team outperformed rival Ferrari on Sunday. Before gaining his P2, Hamilton drove at the front for the entire race. He even started the first restart of the race from pole position.

His teammate George Russell's early pit stop, after both drivers had overtaken Max Verstappen at the start, gave Hamilton a lap in the lead. With his first lap in the lead in 2023, the seven-time world champion set a new record. As many as 17 years in a row, the Briton has been in the lead for at least one lap of an F1 race.

With those laps in the lead, Hamilton has passed Michael Schumacher who has 16 years behind his name. On a shared P3 are Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso with 15 years. Hamilton did not manage to win a race in 2022, leaving him on par with Schumacher in terms of years in a row with at least one win. He will not be able to break that record.

Verstappen equals Senna

Besides a record of three red flags during a race and the record of the largest number of world titles on the podium (11 with Verstappen (2), Hamilton (7) and Alonso (2)), there were also impressive figures for the race winner again. Indeed, Verstappen equalled F1 legend Ayrton Senna's eighty podiums.

With his 37 wins, Verstappen also comes close to Senna's total number of wins. With five more wins, Verstappen has passed Senna's 41 and is fifth in the list of most GP wins. With Red Bull Racing's strong RB19, the Dutchman is very likely to succeed this year. Finally, with his 22nd pole position, Verstappen has now also matched Alonso. They share a 13th spot on that list.