For the very first time in his career, Max Verstappen began the formula 1 campaign as the world champion. The Red Bull driver had the best car in the circuit as he looked to defend his title and had an entire grid of fierce rivals who were looking to take the world championship title away from him.
His win in 2021 was not controversy free as many F1 fans believed that he did not deserve the title and he had wrongfully overtaken Mercedes driver Sir Lewis Hamilton. However, Verstappen was entirely blameless as the director of the race Michael Masi had incorrectly allowed the Dutch driver to overtake Hamilton on the final lap of the race. Despite his innocence, he continually had to deal with these claims throughout the season.
The dawn of the new season proved to be a difficult one for Verstappen as he not only had to fend of the controversy of last season, but also look to continue his long-term battle with Mercedes. This presented an opportunity for other drivers and one which Ferrari associated Charles Leclerc took as he got the first pole position of the campaign. The fight for the pole position was between Verstappen and Leclerc as the Dutch chased the Monacan for almost the entire race and he fell short in the last few laps.
During the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen battled against Leclerc again and due to safety car, the Red Bull driver managed to take the lead and would eventually go on to seal his first victory of the season. The biggest distance in terms of points (46 point lead) Leclerc would manage over Verstappen was established during the Australian Grand Prix where the Dutch driver would face fuel system problems that took him out of the race. Max would go on to lose two pole positions to the two Ferraris (Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz) in Miami. However, he managed to have nerves of steel as he managed to win the rest of the races and he took him the Miami Grand Prix. The Spanish Grand Prix saw Verstappen win again as he battled against his team mate and fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez. Many fans felt that Perez let Verstappen win due to team orders, but it was obvious that Max was the fastest on that day.
The Monaco Grand Prix determined to be frustrating for the 2021 world champion as he managed to finish third and his team-mate Perez took home the victory for Red Bull. There were reports that Verstappen was suspicious of Perez's win. He put these reports to bed when he won his fifth grand prix in Baku as he won with 20 seconds between him and Perez after both Ferraris self-destructed in the early parts of the race. The races before and after the summer break helped fortify Verstappen's championship defense and were also a couple of his most dominant performances of the season.
However, his most dominant victory of his career came in the Belgian Grand Prix where power unit penalty led Verstappen to go to the back of the grid regardless of where he qualified. His pole finish got converted to 14th place at the start of the final race. Max being Max saw him take the lead from 14th place just in 14 laps, which is quite incredible. He was on an entire different wavelength as compared to his competition during that event.
During the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen put in another world class performance and was almost untouchable on the Suzuka Circuit. The closest to him on that day was Charles Leclerc but even he could not come close as the Dutch driver won by almost 30 seconds on a race that was cut short due to rain. Leclerc was hit with a post-race penalty which, after a great deal of confusion, saw Verstappen's lead in the championship table become invincible. This saw him become the world champion once again and he had retained his title. The championship victory would not let him ease up on the competition as he looked to break Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher's record of most wins in a season. He equaled that record with his 13th win of the season in the United States Grand Prix. He went on to set a new record with his 14th win in the Mexican Grand Prix. The final round of the season during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen was victorious and he took the checkered flag to a show of pyrotechnics.
The end of the final event not only signaled the end of the 2022 season, but also cemented Max Verstappen's successful championship defense which is considered one of the most dominant and unabating runs that a formula 1 driver has ever produced. The way he won the 2021 championship sparked a lot of debate and speculation; but, the Red Bull driver's 2022 championship run has left no debate or question of any kind. Max Verstappen owned 2022, was the most deserving of the title, and was the best driver during the entire season.
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