Verstappen, how long?

Max Verstappen took his second F1 title this Sunday at Formula 1 Japan GP 2022 and crowned with four more appointments to play. That is the clearest data that shows the efficiency that the Dutchman has red bull in the first season of the new ‘Great Circus’ regulation. So are his 12 victories in 18 races, but above all, the feeling of dominance that the 25-year-old driver has in the second half of the championship.

Red Bull and Verstappen They form the deadliest duo. Two main factors come together: a team and a driver who does almost everything perfectly. Red Bull has demonstrated this in many places.

The first, main point is that The Milton Keynes team knows how to fully explain the 2022 rules to create a car that can fight at the front from the beginning. The second is his tremendous response, something any team must have if it wants to be a champion. After two dropouts from Verstappen In the first three races due to two fuel leaks and many doubts about the engine, everything seemed lost for them, but they reacted and there were no more setbacks.

Here it should be added its best development in terms of evolutionsaspect in which they gave the final blow to Ferrari in the second part of the championship, ending even with the superiority that the Italians had in the rat races with a car with two main weapons: his speed on the straight and his excellent wheel control. This second aspect gave them a huge advantage because it allowed them to have more racing speed and better strategic choices. Also, Red Bull executed their plans perfectly, with perfect approaches and stops. A champion car, with a champion team that also has a champion driver. The perfect bundle.

Red Bull and Verstappen they achieved such dominance in the first year of the new F1 era, with very different regulations and cars with a very different aerodynamic concept than in 2021. Therefore, it is inevitable that many will ask the same question: “How long will Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance last?” Many fear that 2022 will see just the beginning of the vast domain of the Dutch and energy drinks in F1, in the purest Mercedes style of the previous F1 era.

your rivals

Besides all its virtues, another point that fuels that fear is the current situation of its greatest rivals. And it is that a domain is not forged only in the strengths of the self, but in the responsiveness of others. And in that sense, Red Bull seems to be on top as well.

His main rival this year is Ferrari. It is true that next year the rules will remain and Ferrari can celebrate having a fast car with a lot of power. But unlike Red Bull, the car and the team start a step behind. Ferrari will have to lose time to continue to find answers to its bigger tire damage, the main disadvantage compared to Milton Keynes in the last stage of the course. And in addition, they must continue to work on improving the reliability of their engine. Meanwhile, Red Bull can use all that time to continue improving its car.

On the other hand, Ferrari does not seem to have the structure at the level of a champion, and the proof of this is its many mistakes in 2022. The development of the car is worse than Red Bull, the ability to respond to problems is someone was slower and, moreover, his execution of the races left a lot to be desired, with too many mistakes in strategy and pit stops. There are too many things to improve for Red Bull to be nervous in a tough one-on-one battle in 2023 as Mercedes did in 2021. To beat Red Bull you have to do everything perfectly and keep improving without stop Ferrari doesn’t seem to be in that position, although it will try to prove it.

In this field, it is important to remember that another team that has a structure with few cracks, perfect and used to winning like Mercedes, is very far away. It is true that their performance has improved significantly compared to the start of the course, but they are still far from Red Bull with their current car concept. Now the question is to see if the stars decide to continue betting on this single-seater concept, which starts with a clear disadvantage from this point compared to Red Bull. That sounds like your most viable option. Another is to bet on a design that is more like the champions and completely change the concept. That means losing a year and maybe they’ll lose another, 2023, because they have to start from scratch to understand a completely different car.

Beyond these groups, it seems that no one can have the ability to join the battle. Red Bull has the upper hand and it remains to be seen how long it will take for someone to take it away from them. How long will Verstappen’s reign last? That’s the big question.