Level with Senna: Max Verstappen to realise childhood dream if he wins in Canada

Max Verstappen has admitted it is beyond his childhood dreams to draw level with Ayrton Senna's victory tally ahead of this weekend's Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen heads into Sunday's race at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve just one victory shy of the great Brazilian's haul of 41 after winning five of the opening seven rounds in his dominant Red Bull machine.

Verstappen was not even born when Senna was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, but a victory here would take the 25-year-old into joint fifth in the pantheon of F1 winners.

"When I was a little kid, I would never have imagined being on that list," said the two-time world champion.

"But you cannot compare it. People have different careers, and some drivers get into a race-winning car sooner than others, and nowadays, we have more races than back in the day.

"I never look at the numbers, but it is an amazing achievement, that's for sure."

A one-sided campaign

A sixth victory of a one-sided campaign would leave only Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of Verstappen.

Hamilton reached 41 wins to draw level with his boyhood hero Senna at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2015 before surpassing Schumacher's haul five years later and standing on his own as the driver to have won the most races in the sport's history.

READ: Newey has nothing but high praise for Max Verstappen: 'He is a phenomenal force'

However, the seven-time world champion, who has not won a race since the 2021 season, admitted that his rival could "absolutely" eclipse his record.

But when asked if Hamilton's record is on the horizon, Verstappen said: "It is very hard to beat.

"You need to be in the right car for a long time, and we don't