Max Verstappen, the second coronation. Crowned in 2021 at the end of a breathless season until his last round, the Dutchman this time flew over the competition, validating his second consecutive coronation in Japan, Sunday October 9. The driver struck number one has placed himself in the recent tradition of the great champions of his sport, namely that a first title of world champion rarely comes alone. The frantic fight with Lewis Hamilton last year did not take away from his appetite for greatness. She even doubled it.
Driven by a well-born Red Bull who has continued to improve throughout the season, the Dutchman seized every opportunity that presented itself to him. We already knew he was a fierce competitor, not one to open the door in the middle of a battle or to lower his voice in front of the cameras. We discovered in 2022 an even more carnivorous Max Verstappen. For him, victory is not just a goal but a logical conclusion.
Winner of twelve of the sixteen races on the calendar, including five in a row between the French Grand Prix on July 24 and the Italian Grand Prix on September 11, he added to his already immense self-confidence, a disconcerting serenity. “There’s no reason to celebrate yethe explained as he entered mid-season, before the British Grand Prix, with a 49-point lead over Charles Leclerc. I especially want to occupy this position at the end of the season.“
Max Verstappen, you are a DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION pic.twitter.com/mViZ5woEit
—Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 9, 2022
Because if this year rewards the best pilot and the best car, all is not either fallen ready-made in the gloves of “Super Max”. He was 46 points behind after three races, the fault of reliability problems with the RB18 at the start of the exercise. And she was probably not the best in the exercise of the flying lap either, as evidenced by the nine pole positions of Leclerc (against only four of Verstappen).
But Ferrari too often scuttled the efforts of its Monegasque driver, due to strategic errors, when Verstappen never left a crumb. The 25-year-old driver managed to win, on the offensive, starting 7th at Monza, 10th in Hungary where it is difficult to overtake, or 14th at Spa.
“Saudi Arabia were extremely impressive. In Imola he was really dominant winning the Sprint and the Grand Prix, like in Azerbaijan. In Canada, he was under enormous pressure. In Miami, with the pressure of the safety car and a much faster Ferrari behind him… The start from the back of the grid in Hungary, the victory at Spa, the victory at Zandvoort under the most extreme pressure…, lists without stopping his team boss, Christian Horner, at a press conference on Friday 30 September. You want me to stop? In fact, almost all of his Grands Prix have been outstanding this year.“
Here is now Max Verstappen among the earliest champions in history, four Grands Prix from the end of the season. Like a Michael Schumacher, titled in 2002 with six races to go, and whom the Dutchman tends to look more and more like. The great character talent has become the imperturbable champion, like the German in his finest hours in the 2000s.
“His dominance at Spa reminded me of Michael Schumacher at his besttold F1 insider Ross Brawn, technical director of F1 and ex-technical director of Ferrari during the boom years of the “Red Baron”. As a spectator, you feel a certain magic. Of course, we want fierce battles between many pilots. But at the same time, don’t we want to see the magicians who stand out from the rest? Max is the benchmark, without a doubt. Just like Michael. The future will show if he can get the most out of a race day where the car is not so good. It was one of Michael’s many strengths. But Max is still young and he seems to have taken a step in the right direction in that regard as well.“
At Red Bull, we also see Max Verstappen following the path of another former member of the house, Sebastian Vettel. The German, also a phenomenon of speed to reach the top of F1, had won his first crown in 2010 during the last meeting of the season after an unbreathable scenario.
Before experiencing a 2011 season that looked like a walk in the park, and going on to win two other titles in the following two seasons thanks, in particular, to the technical superiority of his single-seater. There is no doubt that Verstappen would gladly accommodate such a scenario. Don’t count on him to be satiated so quickly.