Red Bull’s Max Verstappen did not have a solid start to the 2022 season as he suffered 2 DNFs in the first three races.
During that time, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won and increased the gap in the championship standings. By the time it was the 4th race of the season, Verstappen who had won the championship title in the 2021 season was afraid of making mistakes.
The Dutchman who ultimately won the championship by a huge gap told the media during the FIA Prize Giving ceremony that during the Imola GP he knew that he couldn’t afford any mistakes from his side.
He explained that a driver needs to score points every race. And these DNFs at the beginning of the year were very tough to handle.
Nothing compares to Max Verstappen and Checo walking onto the podium together in Imola 🥲 pic.twitter.com/x8J4lTOwT9
— Sophia (@sophiahobbs_) July 6, 2022
Max Verstappen picks 3 worst races of the 2022 season
The 2-time champion had very few bad races in the 2022 season. He dominated the season with his RB18 and points lead throughout.
However, things didn’t start that smoothly for the Red Bull ace. He suffered two DNFs at the start of the season in Bahrain and Australia but still picked 3 other races as his lowest point.
Verstappen chose Monaco, Silverstone and Singapore as the three worst weekends of the year.
Monaco qualifying saw the 25-year-old finish P4 after his teammate spun in the final seconds and halted him from completing a flying lap.
He faced trouble in Silverstone after running over debris which stuck to the floor and dropped him down the grid places. Moving to Singapore qualifying, Verstappen found his car under-fuelled leaving him on the fourth row of the grid.
I have achieved all goals in F1 – Verstappen
Like any other driver, Verstappen too dreamt of becoming a world champion and he finally did. The Dutchman now is a 2-time world champion and was asked what has changed for him since becoming a world champion.
He said that not much has changed since then. Only the need to win a title has gone. “I felt I had achieved all the goals in F1. Anything that comes after this is a bonus,” he added.
