Max Verstappen has revealed that he “learned a lot” at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix earlier in the season, a race he lost to Sergio Perez.
Verstappen had to settle for second at the Baku City Circuit, after being unable to keep up with his team-mate.
Since Azerbaijan though, the reigning World Champion has won every race, with him having extended his winning streak to nine races last weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix.
His ninth consecutive win saw him match Sebastian Vettel’s record from 2013, whilst the victory at Zandvoort marked his 11th in total for the season.
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Verstappen now has the chance to eclipse Vettel’s record this weekend, at the Italian Grand Prix.
Nobody has been able to touch the Dutchman since Azerbaijan, with him winning with ease no matter where he starts from.
He proved this in Miami and in Belgium, two races he didn’t start from pole position.
His victory in Miami was arguably the more impressive of the two, as he fought through the field from ninth on the grid.
It doesn’t matter at the moment what challenge Verstappen is faced with, as he’s simply conquering everything.
Losing to Perez in Baku was key to his current success, with the 25-year-old revealing that he “tried a lot of stuff” at that event to be as strong as possible.
By trying so much, Verstappen learnt a lot about the RB19, to the extent that he’s “implemented” what he discovered in Baku at every Grand Prix since.
“Yeah, I think I learned a lot from the race in Baku, how to do some things with the car, how to set it up,” Verstappen said after his home win.
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“Of course, I didn’t win that race in Baku but actually I really tried a lot of stuff and different tools in the car.
“That’s why throughout the race it was a little bit inconsistent, but at one point, I got into a good rhythm with what I found. But then I damaged my tyres a bit too much.
“But it was like ‘Ok, that’s quite interesting for the next races’. And I basically implemented that and it has helped me on every track.”