Max Verstappen’s unstoppable dominance in the 2022 F1 season continued in his home race in Belgium as the Red Bull driver stormed through the grid to take home his ninth win of the season. Despite taking engine penalties, Verstappen blew the rest of the competition out of the water as the Red Bull driver finished nearly 20 seconds ahead of his teammate in one of the most convincing wins of the season. It was also another great day out for the Austrian manufacturers as Sergio Perez came home in second to complete a Red Bull 1-2, while Carlos Sainz had to settle for third after starting on pole.
There were lots to learn in Spa as the 2022 F1 season heads toward a predictable conclusion.
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The most stunning part of Max Verstappen’s victory in the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa was that the Dutchman took only 12 laps to soar from P14 to the top of the gird. Such was the pace of the Red Bull and the supreme ability of Verstappen behind the wheel that the 2021 F1 World Champion produced one of the most dominant victories this season despite starting near the back of the grid.
Verstappen gained an immense six positions on the first lap of the race, and the rest of the grid were left defenceless against the straight-line speed of the Red Bull. Red Bull are a notch above every other team on the grid right now, both in terms of speed and strategy, and they should comfortably walk the 2022 F1 World Championship title in the second half of the season.
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With Verstappen and Leclerc starting near the back of the grid, Mercedes had their best chance to seize a victory at Spa. However, the Silver Arrows had a poor qualifying session and struggled for pace during the race. Hamilton was forced to retire on lap one due to a tangle with Fernando Alonso, while Russell was considerably slower than the top three throughout the race, having to settle for a P4.
Following the performances in Spa, Mercedes seem to have taken a step backwards compared to the top teams over the summer break. Barring some freak circumstances, it may be that the next time we see a silver arrow standing on the top step of the podium is in 2023.
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Having gone throughout the race without making too many strategy errors, Ferrari ensured that they did not leave Spa without at least one blunder as they cost Charles Leclerc two points in the championship and one position at the 2022 Belgium Grand Prix. Looking to take the fastest lap away from Max Verstappen, Ferrari pitted Leclerc before the last lap of the race for the soft tyres from P5.
However, this move turned out to be another one of Ferrari’s misstep’s this F1 season, as Charles ended up coming out behind Alonso in P6. He eventually overtook him to regain his position but failed to get the fastest lap before getting a five-second penalty due to speeding in the pit lane that pushed him back to P6 in the final classification, costing him two world championship points. That sums Ferrari’s season up in a nutshell.
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Former team-mates and championship rivals Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were caught in a tangle on the first lap when the Mercedes driver didn’t give the Spaniard enough space heading into Les Combes, causing them to make contact.
The Briton was forced to retire from the race due to the damage on his floor and sidepod for the first time in the 2022 F1 season, and Alonso had some strong words for his fellow veteran driver on the radio following the incident. After feeling the effects of a Lewis Hamilton squeeze, the two-time world champion said: What an idiot, closing the door from the outside. I mean, we had a mega start, but this guy only knows how to drive and start in first.
Lewis Hamilton later accepted blame for his error but also brushed off the comments of his fellow world champion, stating in an interview after the race that he could not care less what Alonso had to say.
[Featured Image Credit: F1]
Shivaan Shah