Erik van Haren explains why Max Verstappen was desperate to overtake Sebastian Vettel to claim P7 in the 2022 Singapore GP.
Max Verstappen came to Singapore with the hopes of swapping up the 2022 World Championship. To win the title, the Dutchman had to claim the race win and Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez had to finish lower than 7th.
But Verstappen has left squabbling in the midfield. While his teammate Perez claimed the win under lights and Leclerc claimed P2.
The race was delayed by rain and multiple safety car periods. But one driver who managed to impress everyone was Sebastian Vettel.
Vettel returned to the favourite street circuit where he has claimed 5 wins. He is known as ‘the lion of Singapore.’ But this would be his last outing in the city-state.
Vettel announced his retirement at the end of the 2022 season. But despite having just 6 more races left in his F1 career, Vettel fended off attacks from the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Erik van Haren from De Telegraaf mentioned it was great to see Sebastian still pushing his machinery. He enjoyed Vettels duel with Hamilton and Verstappen and stated, “It was a great fight of 3 World Champions .”
He said, “It was great to see him. He is a legend of the sport, a 4-time World Champion. You don’t want to see him going on and on.” But Vettel’s performance came at the cost of Verstappen’s charge.
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Max Verstappen was unable to pass Sebastian Vettel
Max Verstappen came to Singapore with 5 consecutive victories. But his winning spell came to a halt, which means Sebastian Vettel’s 9 race-winning record still stands.
Seb easily put one of the best drives of his season. He jumped 5 places in the race start. The German held Lewis Hamilton and even Verstappen until the last lap of the race.
Max was hungry and made a great pass. But people were quick to point out how eager he was to claim P7 and finish above Vettel.
Although the Dutchman is more than 300 points ahead of Vettel, Erik van Haren stated for Max it was a big deal. He said, “It was great to see them fight for two points. But for Max, every point counts”
Ultimately it was a great day for Aston Martin who claimed 12 points as both drivers finished with points. Lance Stroll managed his best finish this season and claimed P6.
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