The race that allowed Max Verstappen to relaunch in the championship

Never give in too quickly: this is the mantra of pilots Formula 1 and the great champions who represent it. Max Verstappen is used to it: in 2021, the Dutchman went to glean the championship in the last lap, while he seemed certain to Lewis Hamilton. In 2022, this is another scenario that the pilot was able to experience Red Bull. A little flashback, last April: at the end of the first three Grand Prix of the season, the Batavian was already 46 points behind the championship leader, Charles Leclerc. The reason ? Two retirements due to mechanical problems, in Bahrain and Australia. 

At that time, those most in a hurry were already announcing Verstappen out of contention for the title, given the performances of the Ferrari and the Monegasque. The main person concerned was even quite pessimistic about his chances of winning the title. “We had a pretty terrible start to the year, so at the time I thought we couldn't really challenge for the championship, confided the Dutchman. But things really turned around very quickly, and the car became even more competitive. It's been a crazy year for us in terms of winning and it's been really, really enjoyable. This is something, of course, that I would never have imagined at the start of the year. »

Imola, the first turning point of Verstappen's season

The turning point of the season according to Max Verstappen? The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, in Imola. During this Sprint race weekend, the world champion left with a solid card: victory on Saturday, victory on Sunday, while Charles Leclerc made a mistake and finished in a solitary 6th place. For the Red Bull driver, the near-perfect meeting in Italy meant that the championship was well and truly underway. “The Imola weekend was very good, we had a really strong weekend, recalls Verstappen. Then, of course, the gap [with Leclerc] was slowly closing and that's normally always a good sign. At that point, we couldn't afford any more dropouts. (…) To be honest, I don't really remember which race I thought I would be back in the championship, but I remember that for us Imola was a very important weekend. »

Following his success at Imola, Max Verstappen scored two more consecutive victories in Miami and Spain, taking the lead in the championship in Barcelona thanks to the retirement of Charles Leclerc. And we all know what happened next, with a record season of 15 victories in 22 races and a second world title acquired at the Japanese Grand Prix...

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