Formula 1: why Verstappen was unrivaled in 2022 and what he needs to be champion in Singapore

Five victories in the last five races (the last one, Sunday, in Monza), eleven celebrations in the 16 races disputed and a difference of 116 points on the main rival in the fight for the title, when they are 164 in installments in the last six dates. Max Verstappen’s dominance in the 2022 Formula 1 season is overwhelming. The Dutchman leads with such a huge lead that he could secure the two-time championship in the next round, in Singapore, in three weeks. An almost unbeatable setting for the pilot of Red Bull, which no one would have dared foresee at the end of last year or even after the first Grand Prix of this championship. But this seems the most logical today.

Verstappen won his first premier-class title in the final race of last season, with a heartbreaking victory after beating Lewis Hamilton on the last tour of Abu Dhabi. That epic and controversial finale made us imagine a 2022 World Cup with the Dutch and the British, of Mercedesas great protagonists. At the beginning of the year, the renewed single-seaters were presented, adapted to a new technical regulation. ferrari dazzled with his F1-75 in pre-season training and it looked like the championship would then have three strong teams. But a lot has changed since then.

Charles Leclerc confirmed at the beginning of the calendar that the new car of the squad He was ready to fight: he scored a 1-2-1 in the first three games in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia and took 46 points away from Verstappen, who won on Arab soil but abandoned in the other two. The Dutchman at that time was struggling with the reliability of his car, which seemed to have problems with the engine.

But shortly before the fourth round, the GP of Emilia Romagna, Red Bull identified the problem: a failure in the fuel system, caused by the pouring out, that rebound due to the ground effect that gave more than one team a headache. Fixed the problem, the RB18 started to perform better and better on the track and Verstappen got tired of getting on the podium.

He won that date in Imolarepeated in You love me It’s inside Cataloniaadded a third place in Monk and then he put together two wins Azerbaijan Y Canada. And so he transformed that disadvantage of almost 50 points that Leclerc had taken away from him into one of his 49 in favor of him on the Monegasque, who even fell in third place, behind Sergio Perezpartner of Crazy Max.

It is that that of Ferrari has taken the opposite path to that of the Dutch. His car went from being the best on the grid to one with the most reliability problems. And mechanical and power unit failures cost him and his partner Carlos Sainz some dropouts. In addition, some mistakes and questionable decisions of his team ended up costing the Monegasque, who in the last twelve dates has won only one race (Austriaon July 10) and added three more podiums (second in You love me and on Sunday, in Italyand third in Hollandalways behind Verstappen).

At Monza he started from pole, but was unable to hold the position against an unstoppable Verstappen, who started seventh after being penalized by five positions for having changed engines more times than allowed, and still beat him on the track. Red Bull’s strategy was fundamental, making only one pit stop, against Ferrari’s two. But the superiority of the Dutchman’s car was also clear.

“We had a faster car. I think we would have won the race anyway, even if they hadn’t stopped the second time,” he said. Christian HornerRed Bull team manager.

What happened to Hamilton? Mercedes he was the one who suffered the most pouring out at the beginning of the championship and which strongly influenced the performance of the Brit, who also suffered from severe back pain due to the rebound. The seven-time champion also said the W13 it was “the worst car I’ve ever driven in F1”. toto wolffteam manager, said he didn’t deserve a driver like Lewis and even apologized on more than one occasion for the car they had built for him.

Difficult for the German team to find a way around the new design of his car and Hamilton was on the podium in the first eight dates (he was third in the first, in Bahrain). Right in the ninth, in Montreal, the Brit was once again competitive on the track: he finished third behind Verstappen and Sainz and ensured he felt they were “getting closer”. But at that point in the championship the Dutchman already had 150 points and he only 62.

Subsequently he added two second places and another two thirds, but after the summer break he did not return to the top 3 (he started in Belgium, was fourth in the Netherlands and fifth in Monza). Without regularity – and still without any win – he could never be the rival that was expected from Red Bull.

The problems of Ferrari and Hamilton paved the way for Verstappen. And the Dutchman, with a superior car that flies on all tracks, extraordinary talent and the support of a team that has developed all the strategies, has established himself every time as the great dominator of the championship. To the point that, with six dates from the end, it seems impossible for the title to escape.

What does Verstappen have to do to claim the title in Singapore?

After the victory in Monza, at Ferrari, Verstappen leads the championship with 335 points. Leclerc is second with 219 and further behind the Czech Pérez (partner of Mad Max), with 210; Giorgio Russel, with the other Mercedes and 203; Sainz, with 187; and Hamilton, with 168. There are 164 units up for grabs and the Red Bull team has the two-time championship on hand, which could be secured on the next date, in Singapore on October 2.

“Max is in a fantastic position. But asking him to win every race that remains. Singapore has the most curved track on the calendar, it’s bumpy and it’s a street circuit. It has to be one of the toughest races. Horner anticipated, even though he also has acknowledged that his car “performs very well on different circuits”.

Attention despite the Red Bull boss, no one would be surprised if Verstappen climbed to the top step of the podium on the Marina Bay street circuit, taking him to 360 points. In that case Leclerc should finish eighth, as the worst result, to continue with the chances (he would be at 137, with 138 still to be divided).

If the Red Bull driver wins in Singapore and also takes the extra point for the lap record, he would force the Monegasque to finish seventh not to say goodbye to the title fight.

Such a weak performance by Ferrari, which comes out of two podiums in a row and does not drop from sixth place for four dates, is possible, although not very likely. Furthermore, it is not impossible that the Dutchman does not win the next race. Therefore, it wouldn’t be surprising if the title fight extended to Japanseven days later.

And in Japan, Verstappen’s chances are much greater. Assuming that the Monza result is repeated in Singapore – the Dutch first and the Monegasque second, with the fastest lap – they would arrive at Suzuka 122 points behind. Already Crazy Max It would be enough for him to be second and even third, even if his rival wins that race with the lap record.

The combinations of results that could define the championship in advance without many. For now the only certain thing is that Verstappen is in an almost unbeatable position, that everything depends on him and that, if he does a great performance in Singapore and Leclerc doesn’t add much, the Dutchman could leave Marina Bay with the title under the arm. .