Max Verstappen, in the 2022 season, has been an unstoppable force. With RB16, the Dutch race driver won over 15 races to clinch his second championship.
With this type of season, nothing could have stopped him. He is quickly climbing the chart of the most wins by F1 drivers in history. The Red Bull star, with 35 race wins in his career, is only six victories away from equalling Ayrton Senna’s tally.
Not to forget, Verstappen is only 25. He still has many years left with him in F1; at this rate, he can smash every reachable record. Nico Rosberg already considers him among the top five drivers of all time.
Also read: Sergio Perez feels no pressure on his Red Bull seat upon Daniel Ricciardo’s arrival
Max Verstappen never thought of winning 35 races
Verstappen is on an alarming rise as an F1 legend. However, while receiving his 2022 title trophy, he claims that never in his childhood had he believed that he would win so many races in his career.
“All the wins we have achieved are something I never could have imagined in my life,” said Verstappen at the FIA prize ceremony. “After last year, winning 10 I was like if we can ever do something again that would be amazing.”
🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/ulAnHXBERQ
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) December 9, 2022
Along with Perez, Red Bull secured 17 race wins. Surely this season has been one of the most successful years for Red Bull, and they are likely to continue their dominance in 2023.
No more a deputy
In the last two seasons, Verstappen has received enough assistance from his teammate. However, Perez wasn’t reciprocated with the same assistance at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
This incident was followed by public criticism of Verstappen by Perez. It was something which was never seen before. With this, there is a level of animosity in the Red Bull lineup. So, Perez can’t be expected to be so helpful in 2023.
Moreover, the Mexican race driver has publicly said he would never get a chance to drive the fastest car on the circuit again. So, he aims to vie for the championship.
But would he get the rightful assistance from Red Bull, as they had Verstappen as the de-facto leading driver? So even before Perez and Verstappen are considered head-to-head, it’s doubtful that Perez would even get a fair push by the Milton-Keynes-based team.
Also read: When Lewis Hamilton was distracted by sound of Fernando Alonso’s Renault V10 engine
