- Max Verstappen was chosen by his fellow competitors as the driver of the year
- Verstappen now a double world champion, dominated the year
- He won 15 out of 22 races in 2022
Max Verstappen has been chosen by his fellow competitors as the best driver for the 2022 Formula 1 season.
Verstappen, now a double world champion, dominated the year and hardly missed a beat. He shattered numerous records in the process. Notably, the Red Bull Racing driver won 15 out of 22 races in 2022, shattering the previous record for the most victories in a season.
Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel formerly shared the record (13 victories). Verstappen won the race, placing Charles Leclerc second, while George Russell and Lewis Hamilton tied for third.
Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Sebastian Vettel, and Sergio Perez round out the top 5, with Lando Norris rounding out the top 5. Drivers received scores based on the existing F1 points system, with the top driver receiving a score of 25 and the bottom driver receiving a score of one. After combining those scores, a rating came up.
Max Verstappen signs new contract with Red Bull. Photo/Sky Sports
The following drivers participated in the ranking process, per the official website of Formula One:
Albon, Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Pierre Gasly, Nicholas Latifi, Leclerc, Kevin Magnussen, Norris, Esteban Ocon, Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, Russell, Sainz, Mick Schumacher, Lance Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda, Verstappen, Vettel, and Zhou Guanyu.
There was no explanation for why Hamilton chose not to participate in the procedure.
From the results, Verstappen topped as the 2022 F1 best driver. Charles Leclerc came in second, with Hamilton and George Russell taking the third position jointly.
Others were Lando Norris (5), Fernando Alonso (6), Carlos Sainz (7), Alex Albon (8), Sebastian Vettel (8) and Sergio Perez (8).
Additionally, Verstappen was named “Driver of the Year” by the various team principals. Leclerc, who came in second with 144 points, was well behind the Dutchman, who finished with 207 points.
There were a few surprises in store on the list supplied by the team principals, even though the list provided by the drivers seems to be more in line with what many fans would have anticipated.
It was a little surprising that Bottas ended ahead of Vettel, given the seasons both drivers had and that Norris was put beneath Perez, who the drivers ranked eighth.
There was some disagreement between the drivers and the team owners regarding how the grid performed throughout the season. This was despite Verstappen and Leclerc finishing in the top two, which appears to be a consensus among both groups.
Max Verstappen. Photo/RacingNews365
As it is, Verstappen will have tough competition and an uphill battle in 2023, according to Pedro de la Rosa, a former Formula 1 driver.
For the 2022 world championship, Verstappen had few opponents. He survived the early setbacks of two DNFs in the first three races to embark on a dominant run in which he won 15 of the 22 races.
This enabled him to crush previous records for the most victories in a season. De La Rosa asserts that the Dutchman’s 2023 season won’t be as simple because the entire field will be more competitive following a year for the regulations to develop.
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