On the hunt for the title
Max Verstappen, the winning Dutchman
By Emmanuel Schneider
10/09/2022 2:34 p.m
Title number two: Max Verstappen is now double world champion. The Red Bull driver confirms the 2021 changing of the guard and follows in Lewis Hamilton’s dominance footsteps. However, the 2022 season is a powerful contrast to the previous year.
There are sonorous names that Max Verstappen now joins. Mika Hakkinen, Fernando Alonso, Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi, Graham Hill and Alberto Ascari. Like these racing icons, Verstappen has now won two world titles in Formula 1. And he still hasn’t had enough. The Dutchman is on course to add more World Championships like his Red Bull predecessor Sebastian Vettel.
Winning the title early this season was an impressive display of power. The victorious Dutchman Verstappen has already clinched more top places on the podium than last year (12). The remaining four races will be a lap of honor for him.
A strange title
How he came to the world title, however, is very curious. When he crossed the wet finish line in Suzuka, he had a good lead. However, because there had been a long break in the rain, according to a rule of the International Motor Sport Federation, the full number of points should not be awarded. However, this rule only applies if the race cannot be resumed after an interruption, the rule holders explained belatedly. So suddenly Verstappen was no longer missing a point at the finish, but he had collected enough to have left everyone behind in terms of the title.
Verstappen himself didn’t know if he could celebrate, and his team sometimes didn’t celebrate either. “It’s not me,” said the Dutchman after the first congratulations. But yes, he already is. He definitely earned it over the course of the season, it was just a matter of time.
At the very beginning of the season it was not foreseeable that four races before the end of the season he would only be driving for the show. In the first race in Bahrain, the Dutchman fought a thrilling duel with Ferrari star Charles Leclerc. The Red Bull racer went on strike with a technical problem five laps before the end. Shortly thereafter, wingman Sergio Pérez’s car also went out – long faces in the bulls’ box.
Ferrari stays Ferrari
At first it stayed with this roller coaster ride. Verstappen won the second desert clash in Saudi Arabia, only to be knocked out again a few laps before the finish with a smoking RB18. 48 points behind lit up the World Cup account. It smelled like a head-to-head duel with the Scuderia and Ferrari driver Leclerc. This in turn made it clear: He wants to be world champion. But it turned out: Ferrari sometimes even has the faster car, but when it comes to reliability and tactics, Ferrari remains Ferrari. That means: regardless of whether the bulls made a buck, Ferrari then put at least two behind.
A duel that was exciting on paper turned out to be very unequal in the long run. In any case, one would have wished for a three-way battle. But Mercedes, the former series champion, had lost the power to win. The Silver Arrows had botched the start of the new rule era. Race after race, the team pondered the relatively lame Mercedes and the bouncing problems that shook Lewis Hamilton and George Russell particularly hard. Only in the middle of the season was the racing team able to win again.
After the initial flutter, Red Bull switched to dominance mode. Verstappen raced to five wins in the following six races. The race in Miami a blueprint: Verstappen starts well, then grabs rival Leclerc and defends the lead without making any mistakes. Only in Monaco did he “only” finish third. The cornerstone for defending the title. Because while Verstappen was now delivering consistently, Ferrari provided the main reason for malice at home. Questionable tactical decisions and all sorts of problems in the race slowed down the Reds. Suddenly team boss Mattia Binotto was counted again and some Tifosi asked themselves: Does Leclerc even have what it takes to be world champion? The Italian press scoffed.
Without opponent Hamilton, Verstappen remains relaxed
Verstappen has been above this question for over a year and a half now. At that time he fought one of the great duels in the sport, which will probably go down as one of the most exciting in history. The decision was only made in the last lap of the last race. There was only such a gripping duel in the early stages of this season. Then he fizzled out. Verstappen was too strong for Leclerc or Sainz. And his own teammate Perez was only faster in isolated cases. In Monaco, England or Singapore. Not enough to seriously challenge the champion. Verstappen was therefore much more relaxed in the World Cup fight than in previous years. Leclerc couldn’t offer as much resistance as Hamilton.
Setbacks like in Silverstone or recently in Singapore (two seventh places) did not throw the world champion back. Even if the scenes after the qualifying disaster in Singapore demonstrated how dogged he still is and how angry he was at the team. He reliably came back strong. Verstappen and the team quickly and comprehensively solved the problems in the first races. The racing team around consultant Helmut Marko and team boss Christian Horner kept their nerves. Like a champ. And Verstappen quickly got used to the new generation of cars with larger tires.
Five victories in a row sober up the competition
Anyone who was still hoping for excitement in the final sprint was quickly taught otherwise. With five wins in a row over the summer, Verstappen left no doubt about defending the premiere title. The most exciting question is: Will he break the record set by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel? The two German icons are still at the top of this ranking with 13 wins in one season. Verstappen is now at twelve. The record is shaking. Mathematically, Verstappen can break another record from Michael Schumacher: The record world champion won his fifth title in 2002 with a lead of 167.5 points (67 points according to the point system valid at the time) over Rubens Barrichello, who came second in the world championship. After the victory in Suzuka, Verstappen has already distanced the – well – pursuer Sergio Perez by 113 points.
So the competition didn’t stand a chance. And the question arises: Yes, who should stop the Dutchman? It will be the big story next year. And colleagues Russell, Leclerc and Co. certainly have their answer ready. Alone: She will not scare Verstappen at all. Most likely still the world association FIA. Because the Verstappen success is slightly clouded by the allegations that were recently fueled by media reports. Red Bull is said to have exceeded the cost cap of $148.6 million in 2021. Verstappen could have benefited from this in the 2021 title race. That’s how the competition sees it. The FIA wants to present the results on Monday, the day after winning the title. The problem: There really isn’t a real list of penalties. However, it is unlikely that he will be stripped of his first title.