(Motorsport-Total.com) – By winning the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, Max Verstappen secured himself last Sunday. His second Formula 1 driver’s crown in a row He leads four races before the end of the Formula 1 season.
© Motorsport Pictures
Max Verstappen has entered the last four races as old and new world champion
Zoom
With twelve victories, the Red Bull driver has dominated events throughout the year and broken away from early championship leader Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in the summer races.
Leclerc retired from the lead in both Spain and Azerbaijan due to problems with the cars. However, he took full responsibility for the mistake that made him spin front in the French Grand Prix.
Paul Ricard the turning point in the title duel
This error opened the door to Verstappen’s victory in France and gave him a 63-point lead over Leclerc in the drivers’ standings. From that point on, Verstappen thought he would win this year’s world championship.
Although the Dutchman said after the race at Suzuka that “there are a few moments when I thought we had a good chance” to win the title. But after racing in Paul Rijkaard he was really confident of taking his second world title of the year.
“The moment I thought we were going to win was, I think, after Paul Rijkaard, where the progress was much greater,” Verstappen recalls.
He has a special memory of spa
“We had a very competitive car. I knew it would be very close in the next races, but I thought we couldn’t give up that lead.” And the 25-year-old was destined to be right in the end.
Because with the victory in France, a five-race winning streak began for him, with Red Bull clearly distancing themselves from Ferrari. This also included catching up in Hungary and Belgium, where Verstappen had to start from 10th and 14th place respectively and still celebrate a dominant victory in each case.
F1 Analysis: What went wrong at Suzuka?
We analyze: why Verstappen already became F1 world champion at Suzuka, but he didn’t know it. W: That’s what happened with the recovery car and Gasly! More Formula 1 videos
He describes his victory at Spa as the highlight of his season. “I have to highlight my weekend at the spa because I think that was just a total domination.”
“Weekends like this are very rare,” Verstappen said. “And especially when you come home at night and start to think a little about the weekend. That’s when you realize it was so crazy and special.”
“General writer. Twitter fanatic. Award-winning alcohol practitioner. Pop culture guru.”
More Stories
What obstacles still await SK Sturm in the Bundesliga title fight?
Offner after early exit from Madrid: “I don’t feel fit”
“I know him well”