Verstappen, on the trail of a record season

Reigning world champion, Max Verstappen had not started the defense of his crown in the best way. After only three Grands Prix, the Batavian had notably experienced two retirements which relegated him to 46 points already behind. Charles Leclerc, the man in form at the start of this 2022 season.

In the tough, the Dutchman and Red Bull managed to find the necessary resources to reverse the trend by stringing together 5 victories in the following 6 Grands Prix (the 6th going to Sergio Pérez in Monaco). An operation which allowed him to take the lead in the championship while Charles Leclerc was unable to keep up the pace, but above all to resume the defense of his world title with a vengeance.

Australia, Verstappen is forced to retire for the second time in 2 Grands Prix. ©DPPI

A record Verstappen

Compared to 2021, the year of his first and only coronation so far, Max Verstappen is already ahead. Although he got off to a bad start with these two retirements in Bahrain and Australia, the Batavian has had no difficulty in stringing together successes in recent months. After 13 Grands Prix contested this season, the Red Bull protégé already has 8 victories where last year he had “only” 7. With 9 race weekends still to go, it is difficult to see the champion of the reigning world not to beat his mark of 10 victories dating from last year.

Max Verstappen already has 8 victories in 2022. ©DPPI/A. Vincent

In the balance sheet after 13 Grands Prix, the Dutchman is also ahead compared to his performances of the previous year. Already leader of the championship at this stage of the 2021 season, Max Verstappen now has 258 points, 21 more than a year ago in the Netherlands, scene of the 13^e round of the last campaign.

Verstappen behind in one area

If he is ahead in the number of victories and points compared to 2021 after 13 Grands Prix, Max Verstappen nevertheless remains behind in a very specific area: pole position. Last year, the Batavian showed great progress in this exercise, often standing up to the specialist in the field, Lewis Hamilton.

In 13 qualifying sessions, the Red Bull driver had signed no less than 7 pole positions (1 in the Sprint Race in Great Britain) whereas in 2022 he was only able to achieve 3. This gap is due to the return of Ferrari which designed a competitive car after two very complicated years and which notably allowed Charles Leclerc, very comfortable in this area, to glean 7 pole positions since the start of the season.

While the misfortunes follow one another on the side of Ferrari and Mercedes is down compared to 2021 and previous years, there is no doubt that Max Verstappen is on the trail of a record season. With 9 Grands Prix still in play and an 80-point lead, the Batavian seems well on his way to retaining his title (no driver with such a lead at the time of the summer break has missed the title at the end of the year) and above all beat your own marks!

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