Formula One 2022: The Season so Far

Max Verstappen’s domination of Formula One moves him within one win of claiming his second consecutive drivers’ championship.

Red Bull’s Verstappen is edging closer to another world championship crown with a controlled win at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy.

Max Verstappen at the Grand Prix of Italy (Image: Getty)

This was the last race of the dreaded triple-header, with the other two races taking place in Belgium and Holland. With no racing this weekend it gives the drivers time to relax, see family and go out to enjoy their hobbies. But as soon as they get the green light for the next race they will be travelling to Marina Bay in Singapore.

Verstappen leads the championship by a whopping 116 points over Ferraris’ Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc had an amazing start to the season, taking two wins in the first three races in Bahrain and Australia, with Verstappen retiring from both of those races. But a win in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, saw Leclerc take an early championship lead. The young Dutchman dusted himself down, got his head together and dominated in Imola, Miami and Barcelona. This period of dominance puts him back in title contention.

Leclerc has only one win in the last six races coming at the Red Bull ring in Spielberg, Austria. Leclerc has not had the best of luck with two engine blowouts in Barcelona and Baku as well as a crash in France, to which he said: “The only person to blame is myself.”

Leclerc greets supporters at the drivers’ parade (Image: Getty)

But there have been races where the strategist has made the wrong decision, such as in Hungary where they put on the wrong tyre and in Silverstone, where they cost him the race. In Monaco, Leclerc’s home race, the strategist had a bad day. He started on pole and in Monaco it’s hard to overtake, so they made probably the worst decision of the season so far and pit Leclerc at the wrong time. This ultimately cost Leclerc the race and he ended up finishing fourth.

Verstappen turned into a different beast and has won five races out of the last six; this allowed him to take control in the second period of the season. He knows that he’s within touching distance of winning his second drivers’ championship crown.

You must feel Leclerc gave it his all and put up a good fight, but poor decision-making and reliability issues cost him and Ferrari their first drivers championship since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

Hopefully Leclerc can reflect on these weaknesses in the knowledge that he can challenge the Red Bull for next season.