Vistapan successfully defended the 2022 Formula 1 world champion with an undisputed rain victory in the Japanese station, of course, it is also attributed to the five-second penalty of Leclerc that allowed the Dutch to ascend the throne four stops ahead of schedule. In this issue, let’s review the top ten classic moments of Verstappen’s championship this season.
The first stop of the season lays the foundation for Ferrari and Red Bull 's main tone for the competition
The new technical rules launched this season mean that the ground effect returns to F1, and this set of technical rules makes Mercedes seem to have withdrawn from the championship competition early in the first game. Ferrari's unexpected return became the only highlight of this season. Leclerc used the cornering traction advantage of F1-75 racing to compete with Verstappen's Red Bull and gained an early advantage. Red Bull encountered the fuel pump problem in the opening game, which led to the withdrawal of the two cars. A week later, Verstappen also used RB18's straight tail speed advantage to win back a goal in Saudi Arabia , and continued to use this advantage to narrow and expand the points gap between the next many games.
Vistapan's Australian sorrow
Due to fuel leakage, Verstapan suffered a second withdrawal in Australia, which put him 46 points behind Leclerc and ranked only sixth in the driver's standings. By then, when everyone was worried about the reliability of Red Bull racing, no one would have thought that the Dutch would be so refreshing afterwards.
Leclerc's mistake in Imora gave Verstappen the opportunity to narrow the gap
In the first sprint game of the season, Verstappen declared the return of the king with a complete victory, and the victory in the main game gave the Dutch a net increase of 34 points. Ferrari driver Leclerc used a costly spin to give him a net loss of 19 points. From then on, Ferrari began to make mistakes and dooms, just like Leclerc opening Pandora's magic box.
Azerbaijan and Spain, Ferrari began to encounter reliability problems
With the beginning of the European season, the momentum began to turn to Verstappen. Unlike last season when he retired from the Baku , the fate of withdrawing from the competition with a blowout tire in Baku , Verstappen's victory pace in Baku is unstoppable, and Ferrari began to taste the misfortune brought by reliability. In addition to Baku, the Monacos encountered engine reliability problems again in Spain, which made Leclerc's points reach zero for two consecutive stops. On the contrary, Verstappen scored 50 points in two stops, and also allowed Verstappen to overtake Leclerc by 34 points. Ferrari's continuous reliability problems have led to the team's conservative engine mode setting, including the early replacement of the power unit for Leclerc at the Canadian station, which further widened the gap between the two sides.
In addition to reliability issues, strategic mistakes also came to join in the fun
Between Spain and Azerbaijan encountered an engine failure, and Leclerc encountered a team's strategic mistake in his home game in Monaco, causing the almost-received victory to slide away from his fingertips. Leclerc, who had originally started from the first, even failed to get on the podium. What's even more terrible is that the strategy group of Ferrari actually made two strategic mistakes in one game, which really verified the famous saying: I'm not afraid of opponents like lions, but I'm afraid of teammates like pigs! The same situation happened again in Silverstone . The Ferrarila team was really ruined. It was another mistake in the tire change strategy of entering the station, which made the opportunity that could have narrowed the gap with Verstappen in the UK was destroyed by itself again.
Leclerc's stability completely gave him the opportunity to compete for the championship
In this championship battle, in addition to the flirty operation of Ferrari, Leclerc also began to make mistakes. If it was understandable that his control mistakes at Imora were clear, but Paul Ricard rushed out of the track and hit the guard wall entirely because of his own reasons, and that happened with Leclerc leading the way and without pressure, the Monaco gave Verstappen the 25 points he got.And this mistake was like the last straw that completely crushed Leclerc, and it also announced that the remaining games of the season have become garbage time.
Hungarian Station - Verstappen's most convincing victory this season
Dutchman can only start from 10th in Hungary Station, which almost determines that he cannot get on the podium, because it is traditionally extremely difficult to overtake in Hengroning. But Verstappen did not rush to overtake at the beginning of the main game, but adopted a more stable strategy. However, he was still able to pass five levels and six to the lead. Even if he was spinning in the game, he could return to the leading position. Of course, the Dutchman's victory must be thanked again for the mistakes made in the tire change strategy. More importantly, after the summer break, Ferrari is no longer able to launch a powerful counterattack, so after the Hungarian station, Verstappen had almost touched the championship trophy with one hand.
Ferrari completely surrendered in Hungary
Ferrari lost his position as the fastest Racing started at the Hungarian station. I thought Maranello would easily win in Hengronin, but Mercedes' disruption, Ferrari's own incompetence and Red Bull's extraordinary performance made the Italian team completely defeated. Of course, tire heating is the main problem, and the team did not solve this problem in time, which directly led to their complete defeats in Spa, Zandvot and Monza, which also achieved Verstappen's five-game winning streak since the French station this season.
The upgraded and weight loss Red Bull RB18 makes people even more desperate
The upgrade of Red Bull racing can be said to be a move that can be reached seven inches. Whether it is the bottom plate, side compartment or diffuser of the car, the upgraded RB18 can adapt to any characteristic track. It should be mentioned in particular that the weight loss plan of the car is indeed more in line with Verstappen's driving style, which further consolidates the Dutch's leading advantage. It can be seen that at the Belgian station, Verstappen, who started 14, was able to lead the second place , Perez, 218 seconds after the 44 lap race. It can be seen that it is difficult for the Dutch to not win because other cars are too slow.
Leclerc's penalty caused Verstappen to ascend the throne early in Japan at
to get the seventh place in Singapore , partly because there was not enough fuel to complete the last Speeding lap, which was originally an indisputable pole ring, although it was not crowned early in Singapore, But the Dutch seemed to be unaffected because he felt it was only a matter of time before he got his second title. In contrast, he seemed more willing to end the season with Suzuka, because it was Honda's home court, but only if Verstappen won the championship and Leclerc could not finish the game above the second place. The realistic consideration should be that it would be more appropriate to be crowned in Austin, but Leclerc cut the corner on the last lap and resulted in five seconds of the penalty. Ferrari once again served a big meal and achieved Verstappen ahead of schedule.
Looking back at these ten moments, it is not difficult to find that eight moments are related to Ferrari. This may be the reason why Verstappen didn't seem too excited to defend his title in Japan. I guess even Red Bull and Verstappen themselves feel that they are not a fight.
