F1: MAX VERSTAPPEN’S UNMATCHED DOMINANCE IN 2022

After a remarkable 4th World Championship Red Bulls for Sebastian Vettel, the F1 rules (and engines) changed once again and behind this veil of change, was a period many F1 fans never anticipated. It was an era many never saw coming, as the change had the world of F1 ushered into a period of sustained Mercedes AMG and Lewis Hamilton dominance.

 And so the Formula 1 saga continues, and 2021 looked like that year Lewis Hamilton will eventually smash the record for the most F1 championships won, a record that will see the Brit become the undisputed greatest of all time of the sport by many.

Business as usual it was for Lewis Hamilton when the 2021 F1 season kicked off in Bahrain as he raced into a smooth victory ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and then teammate Valtteri Bottas. Such was the high-flying start of Lewis, that he already had a commanding points gap to nearest challenger Max Verstappen after just four races as the Brit already secured maximum points in three of the first four races.

Tides did turn though on the street circuit in Monte-Carlo as the Red Bull team really showed they have got wings. 

Summing up the 2021 F1 season, a racing season that saw both drivers (Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton) leave it all out on the track including key battles and clashes like Silverstone and Inter-Lagos, eventually came down to a final lap mishap in Abu-Dhabi by then-race director Michael Masi — and in the most controversial of manners, Max Verstappen was crowned world champion for 2021.

THE DOMINANCE OF 2022:

One thing Max Verstappen made sure of in 2022 was that everyone that had doubts about his victory in 2021, “ate their words” with his ceaseless jaw-dropping performances all through the 2022 season. Thanks to Ferrari being their own worst enemy.

To think that the Dutch driver only completed one of his first three races of this season, even makes his performance this season more spectacular.

So well has the Dutch driver dominated the sport this season, that a few have compared his performance this year to the 2004 performance of Michael Schumacher.

Putting things into context, 2004 with Michael Schumacher had the then Ferrari driver on an astonishing level of dominance. Precisely he won 12 out of the first 13 races of the season, with the only one he didn’t win being the street circuit of Monaco, where he was forced to retire due to a collision. Schumacher ended the year with 13 wins and a 72.2% winning percentage for the year. He had an average finishing position of 2.12 and scored an adjusted 367 points, compared to his teammate and second-place finisher Barrichello with 271.

For Max, though with a win percentage of 68.2%, he has already surpassed the points tally of Michael Schumacher from 2004 and he eventually finished 214 points ahead of his would-be rival from Mercedes Lewis Hamilton — though a few will be of the notion that Mercedes as a team were off the pace this season overall.

Also, the Dutch driver stellar season saw him smash the record for the most race wins in a single Formula 1 season (13) a record held by current Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel and Seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher, as he finished the season with a record 15 race victories — to think that Lewis in all his years of record-breaking dominance never won 13 races in a season speaks volumes of how much the son of Jos Verstappen has exerted himself as the new “Sheriff of this sport”. The race in Mexico, the home race of Redbull teammate Sergio Perez saw him eclipse this number and an easy coast to victory in Abu-Dhabi eventually took his season tally to 15 for the calendar year.

With 34 race wins and two world titles to his name already, it looks like the sky is the limit for the youngest driver to win a Formula 1 race, and who says he cannot equal the number of championships won by Lewis and Michael?

2022 STATISTICS MAX VERSTAPPEN

The change of Formula 1 cars this year has played into the hands of Red Bull Racing and the team has surely exerted their dominance on the sport once again and the weekend in Austin, USA claim the prize for the Constructors championship — a title that appeared elusive since 2012.