Max Verstappen is having the time of his life at the helm of his 2022 Formula 1 car by Red Bull. Last Sunday’s win at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez marked his 14th of the season, leapfrogging Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013) for most wins in a single season.
Verstappen’s record-breaking season was never in doubt, as the back-to-back F1 Driver’s Championship winner has been in stellar form for most of the season. He’s made the podium 16 times out of 20. With two more races left in the current campaign, he’s poised to tie the record for most podium appearances in a season (18) he set last year.
All season long, the Red Bull’s champion has driven with a newfound serenity, has avoided unnecessary contact, and stayed out of controversies.
Red Bull did not have the best of starts to the campaign as their two cars retired from the 2022 season’s opening race at the Bahrain International Circuit. However, the constructor then turned things around in the following race as both Verstappen and Sergio Perez scored their first points of the campaign in Saudi Arabia, finishing 1st and 4th, respectively.
Red Bull endured another rough start, with Verstappen retiring again in Australia, but Perez’s P2 finish was enough to save their blushes. From there on out, the Red Bull team got their acts together and never looked back, and for some of us who love to bet on sports like motor racing, putting all our stakes on this squad was never a doubt.
No team came close to matching their mind-blowing performances as they blasted their way to the top of the Constructors Championship standings.
The talk of the season hasn’t just been about Verstappen’s 14 wins but how he achieved them. His driving style was different this year: calm, less haphazard, and more accurate. He knew when to make the right moves, whether he was the one chasing or being chased. The other drivers didn’t have the answers as he cruised through his second consecutive championship.
Since his first win in Saudi Arabia, Verstappen recorded consecutive wins in Miami, Spain, Azerbaijan, and Canada and went on a five-win streak in France, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy. After falling short in Singapore, where he finished 7th, the Dutch driver went on to clinch the F1 Driver’s Championship title in Japan before tying the record for most wins at the United States GP.
His win at the Circuit of the Americas and Perez’s 4th placed finish were enough to seal Red Bull’s 5th-ever Constructor Championship title, their first since 2013. But for the Singapore race, Verstappen would have been right on track to match former Red Bull Driver Vettel’s record of nine straight wins in a season.
Triumph in Mexico made Verstappen the driver with the most wins in a season and also saw him break Lewis Hamilton’s 2019 record for most points in a single season. The 25-year-old now has 416 points, three more than Hamilton, and victory in Brazil and Abu Dhabi could see him stretch his record to 466.
Verstappen currently leads Perez by 136 points. He would be hoping his Red Bull teammate clinches the P2 spot in what looks like a tight race between Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as we approach the season’s final two races. The Monégasque driver is five points behind and could give his competition a run for the money.
Summary
Red Bull’s number one is the consensus favorite to win the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi GP, which could solidify his season record. 16 wins? That’s tough to beat!
The Brazilian GP is set to take place on Sunday, November 13 (11 am MST), at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo.
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