Max Verstappen officially crowned 2022 Formula 1 World Champion: ‘It was better than the 2021 title’

Max Verstappen has been officially crowned a double Formula 1 world champion after receiving his 2022 trophy at the FIA ​​awards ceremony, with the Dutchman saying his record year was “better” than 2021.

Verstappen won his second successive trophy in Bologna on Friday night, almost three weeks after his 15th win of the year.

No driver had ever scored more than 13 victories in a single season before Verstappen’s feat at Red Bull, passing the new F1 regulations with his car.

Despite a dramatic and controversial end to the 2021 season which delivered Verstappen’s first victory, the 25-year-old admitted this year was more enjoyable.

“Emotions are very different, but I think they should be anyway, because all your life you have a particular goal, and that is to become world champion for me in F1, so the first is always emotional once you’ve reached this.

“But this year has been very different. I think we’ve been more competitive this year and more enjoyable with the way we’ve played as a team.

“We won Drivers and Manufacturers, we had a lot of team wins, so I would say this one is better and more rewarding.

“But the first will always be more emotional.

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Nico Rosberg thinks Verstappen has already proven himself to be one of the best drivers of all time after his sensational second season of racing.

“This year has been really, really nice. Last year was my first time fighting for a title, so it was the first time you had that kind of experience.

“As a driver you learn every year, you gain more experience and you look at what you can do better.

“And you know that when you have to fight for a title, you have to score points in every race, as much as you can.

“That’s why, of course, at the beginning of the year it was very difficult to have these DNFs, but I knew from that moment on, I couldn’t afford mistakes on my part at the in case we have a retirement for any reason.

“So you always try to be as clean as possible and to be as perfect as possible every weekend. That’s what I try to demand of myself every time I jump in the car. “

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez were also present at the annual season-ending ceremony after finishing second and third respectively.

This year marked the first time that Lewis Hamilton was not in the top three since his first Mercedes season in 2013, although the Englishman did not attend last year’s gala after the controversial end of the fight for the title of 2021.

There was nothing controversial, however, about Verstappen’s triumph this year.

Despite a rocky start to the season with two retirements in the first three rounds, Verstappen chased and overhauled early leader Leclerc before the summer break, and won nine of the final 11 races of the season to clinch his championship and an F1 record. , with style. .

“After Bahrain [the season’s opening race]… no maybe not!” Verstappen said humorously, in response to when he thought he had won the title.

“When we put the car on the track in winter testing, we could see it was a competitive car, but it was a bit overweight.

“But the way we bounced back from a tough weekend in Australia and then went to Imola and the weekend we had was just amazing, I knew there was a lot of potential but also at that time we had a lot of ground to make up for.

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Former F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen says the sport’s regulations will allow other drivers to challenge Verstappen in 2023.

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Formula 1 World Championship winner Verstappen looks back on his outstanding 15 wins this season but says ‘the goal is to be better’

“But the car since then has been continuously developed in the right direction, and slowly the car has also refined itself, which was good. We had a lot of amazing weekends as a team.”

“Spa [Belgian Grand Prix, is the race that stood out]. Just because of the weekend we had.

“We put the car on the track and everything was working perfectly, I barely touched the car and we were miles ahead of the others.

Leclerc expects smooth Ferrari transition after Binotto

The departure of Mattia Binotto as Ferrari boss in Formula 1 at the end of the month is unlikely to affect the team’s on-track performance next season, runner-up Charles Leclerc said on Friday.

Binotto announced his resignation in November as the sport’s oldest and most successful team has yet to confirm a replacement.

“I never had a change of team principal when I was racing for the same team,” said Leclerc, who made his Ferrari-powered Sauber debut in 2018.

“It will probably take some time for [new] team principal to be comfortable with the system and Ferrari, because obviously it’s a huge team.

“But I believe if it’s done the right way, I don’t think we will suffer from it on the track. I’m pretty sure it will be a smooth transition.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said on Friday he expects a smooth transition after Mattia Binotto’s departure

Leclerc said Binotto called him before his announcement and he respected the decision.

“I can only thank him. He believed in me from the start, he extended me with a very, very long contract and before he was team manager he was also inside the scuderia [team] for many years,” he said.

“He has contributed to the success of the team in recent years, so I wish him the best and now it’s up to us to focus on the future and try to make the right choices to be a bit more of a challenge. for Red Bull next year.”