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The 2022 Formula 1 season has belonged to Max Verstappen, but after a season full of near-misses, George Russell has finally broken through.
Russell gave Mercedes its first win of the 2022 campaign at Sunday's São Paulo Grand Prix, turning in a dominant performance while teammate Lewis Hamilton finished behind him in second place.
Two weeks after setting the F1 single-season record for wins (14), Verstappen had a frustrating afternoon that was highlighted by a five-second penalty for causing contact with Hamilton early in the race.
The penalty caused him to take a nosedive down the field before he was able to recover for a sixth-place finish.
Two weeks after setting the F1 single-season record for wins (14), Verstappen had a frustrating afternoon that was highlighted by a five-second penalty for causing contact with Hamilton early in the race.
The penalty caused him to take a nosedive down the field before he was able to recover for a sixth-place finish.
Tensions also appear to be bubbling over between Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez. Verstappen was criticized for his refusal to allow Perez to move ahead of him in Sunday's waning moments, a move that would have given Perez critical points as he attempts to lock up second place in the standings.
"It shows who he really is," Perez said on the radio to his team.
A fuming Perez later said Verstappen's two championships are "thanks to me."
While Verstappen would undoubtedly prefer a stronger result—and some better inter-team relations—there's nothing that can take away from his brilliant 2022 campaign. This is one of the finest seasons in the history of racing, in any discipline, across any decade.
Russell's victory will give Mercedes at least some reason to have a positive outlook heading into 2023. This season has been a consistent source of frustration for the Mercedes team, with Hamilton not performing up to his typical championship expectations due in large part to the failures of the cars given to him by the team.
Russell has emerged as a bright spot in the future for Mercedes, and giving him his first career F1 victory will go a long way toward building that team's morale moving forward.
Max Verstappen made history Sunday by holding off Lewis Hamilton to win the Mexico Grand Prix in Mexico City.
With the victory, Verstappen now has 14 wins in the 2022 season, setting a new all-time record for most in a single year. He entered the race tied with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel atop the record books.
The race was mostly dominated by Verstappen. Hamilton briefly took the lead after the Dutchman pitted on Lap 26, but when he brought his Mercedes to pit road 10 laps later, Verstappen overtook him once again and never looked back.
The key difference for Verstappen was that he switched to medium tires, while Hamilton switched to hard tires. Hamilton could be heard on his radio multiple times complaining about his tires, while Verstappen was in cruise control and had a lead of over 10 seconds for nearly the entire second half of the race.
Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez placed third, while Mercedes' George Russell settled for fourth. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five.
Sunday's victory continues a dominant run for Verstappen, who is now on a three-race winning streak. The 25-year-old was victorious at the Japan Grand Prix on Oct. 9 and again at the United States Grand Prix last weekend.
Verstappen will have the opportunity to extend his single-season record when he returns for the Brazil Grand Prix in Sao Paulo on Nov. 11-13.
Max Verstappen held off Lewis Hamilton on Sunday in the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, to continue his attack on the Formula One record book.
The 25-year-old earned his 13th win of the 2022 season to tie Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel's mark for most victories in a single year.
Hamilton did what he could to hold off the on-rushing Verstappen, but he was powerless to halt a brilliant pass from the Dutchman on the 50th lap.
Verstappen's lead shrunk to less than a second at one point, but he successfully shut the door on Hamilton for the remainder of the race.
The Red Bull team had plenty to celebrate as they secured the constructors' championship.
Carlos Sainz claimed the pole in Saturday's qualifying. As he sought his second victory of the season, he acknowledged he was "realistic" and added it was "going to be tough" to hold off Verstappen, who was second in the starting order.
Little did Sainz know how difficult his day would be.
The 28-year-old didn't even complete one full lap before he made contact with George Russell, the result of which was serious enough to knock Sainz out of the United States Grand Prix.
Race officials issued a five-second penalty to Russell.
That paved the way for Verstappen to claim the lead, and the 2022 F1 champion was unsurprisingly dominant from the top spot. Although he complained of some issues with his car, it was largely smooth sailing until a pit stop on Lap 36.
Verstappen's Red Bull team was slow to get him new tires, and he had fallen behind Hamilton and Leclerc by the time he was off pit road and back on the track. Vettel, benefited from Verstappen's misfortune as well and looked a good bet to earn a podium finish.
Verstappen overtook Leclerc, though, and Vettel had a terrible pit stop of his own that sent him slipping down the leaderboard. In no time, the race became a head-to-head battle between Verstappen and Hamilton.
The former continued to chip away at the latter's lead to the point where the turnaround felt inevitable. As great as Hamilton is, Verstappen has been nearly untouchable in 2022.
Three stops remain in the current Formula One season. The series will head to Mexico City for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Oct. 30, with Verstappen one checkered flag away from history.
Max Verstappen will have to wait another week to clinch the 2022 Formula 1 title.
Sergio Perez took home Sunday's shortened Singapore Grand Prix and remained the winner after an investigation to determine whether he will retain the victory. F1 officials looked into whether he committed a safety violation by getting too close to the safety car, which could have seen him demoted to second place behind Charles Leclerc.
However, Perez was only given a five-second penalty, keeping him ahead Leclerc.
“It was certainly my best performance, I controlled the race. The last few laps were so intense. I gave it everything for the win today. ... I have no idea what’s going on I was just told to increase the gap. All in all, a fantastic day," Perez said after the race.
Verstappen struggled throughout the day on his way to a seventh-place finish.
A downpour in Singapore led to the race being delayed by more than an hour, leading to the race being run under a time limit.
Verstappen, who expressed frustration after a poor qualifying effort, never quite found a rhythm as he was searching for a sixth straight win. He never came close to sniffing the podium and had to pit after locking up during lap 41.
The defending F1 champ came into the weekend with a chance at clinching a repeat but needed significant help. He needed to not only win the race but also have Leclerc and teammate Perez have less-than-stellar performances.
Neither was ready to give up on their championship chances. Perez and Leclerc paced the field for nearly the entire race, making it impossible for Verstappen to clinch even if he would have wound up taking the victory.
Still, barring a cataclysmic collapse, Verstappen is on his way to a breezy championship in one of the greatest seasons open-wheel racing has ever seen. He is three wins away from surpassing the record for most wins in an F1 season (13 by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel).
Verstappen will need a 108-point advantage over Leclerc and Perez to clinch the title next week in Japan. That gives him several more potential clinching scenarios than he came into this Sunday having, though his best avenue remains to achieve his 12th win of the campaign.
Lewis Hamilton, who raced Verstappen down to the wire a year ago for the championship, continued his disappointing 2022 campaign with a ninth-place finish. After a run of five straight podiums from the Canadian to Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton has finished no better than fourth in his last four races. He's currently in sixth place in the points standings and has long been eliminated from contention.
Max Verstappen earned his 11th win of the 2022 Formula One season with Sunday's victory at the Italian Grand Prix.
The starting grid at Autodromo Nazionale Monza looked different than most races with Max Verstappen beginning in seventh and Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz at the back due to getting hit with penalties after qualifying.
The top drivers still showcased their ability, with Verstappen quickly making his way to the front and building a large lead. The race ended with a safety car after a Daniel Ricciardo stoppage, allowing Verstappen to earn his fifth straight win.
It helped build an even more dominant lead in the driver standings with six events remaining.
Charles Leclerc took an extra pit stop and couldn't make up the ground before the yellow flag, finishing in second place for Ferrari. George Russell earned the final spot on the podium ahead of Sainz and Hamilton.
Final Results
1. Max Verstappen
2. Charles Leclerc
3. George Russell
4. Carlos Sainz
5. Lewis Hamilton
Full results via Formula1.com.
It was an anticlimactic end to the race with the race finishing behind the safety car.
It was still a dominant performance from a driver who has been tough to catch all year long.
With a big lead in the drivers standings and starting in P7, Verstappen could have stayed conservative in this race. However, he stated his mindset in a pre-race interview.
"We don't need to win anymore, but we want to win," the driver told ESPN.
This was clear once the race began as Verstappen zoomed into third position and eventually into second by the fifth lap:
The Dutch star became the leader on lap 13 when Leclerc came into the pits and pulled away again during Leclerc's second stop about 20 laps later.
It created an uphill battle for Leclerc to make up ground down the stretch:
The straights on the Italian track provided few opportunities for passing and large gaps between each position as the laps counted down.
It led to a story we have seen many times this season: Verstappen cruising to victory with the Ferrari strategy being questioned. Leclerc, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll were the only drivers to pit twice before the late safety car.
Ricciardo's stoppage created some drama down the stretch with a potential restart, but the laps had run out and Verstappen clinched his victory.
The drivers will now have a three-week break before the next two races in Singapore and Japan.
