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Max Verstappen has been very measured when it comes to wheel-to-wheel battles in the 2022 F1 season.
The Red Bull driver's far more aggressive approach, something that fans had become accustomed to last season, is somewhat less visible this season as he has been more calculated in his approach. So much so that it has raised questions for Martin Brundle, who wondered if Verstappen could sustain this kind of driving when things get tough.
The former F1 driver-turned-TV commentator wrote in his column:
“The Ferraris of [Charles] Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were simply better on their tyres and much faster than [Max] Verstappen, and by some margin allowing them to travel twice as far on their opening set of Medium compound tyres. They could regain track position at will against Max, who once again was very fair and professional in his driving and defence.”
“Generally he is [fair] this year, albeit very much pushing the limits in his defence against Mick Schumacher the week before at Silverstone. I remember commenting in Jeddah last year (that) Michael Schumacher’s, and to an extent, Ayrton Senna’s amazing legacies are partly diminished by some dirty driving, and that Max would do well to avoid that career reputation. It will be interesting to see how that goes if push literally comes to shove in the championship.”
Max Verstappen calmly and skilfully leads the 2022 F1 championship: Martin Brundle
Max Verstappen suffered two DNFs in the first three races of the season. Since then, however, the Red Bull driver has only finished behind Charles Leclerc just twice. As a result, he sits at the top of the championship with a 38-point lead.
In his column, Martin Brundle wrote that he felt the situation would have been a lot different if the results in various races were optimized. The Briton wrote:
“Max calmly and skilfully leads the championship by 38 points over Charles. But that could have been so different if Ferrari had been more reliable such as in Spain and Azerbaijan, or sharper on strategy such as in Monaco and Britain.”
“Max of course had two retirements in the first three races but Leclerc’s pace throughout has been deeply impressive, and if you wear a neutral F1 cap we are so far being denied another cliffhanger of a championship.”
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc has closed down the gap to Max Verstappen in the last two races. It will be interesting to see if the momentum can continue for the Ferrari driver.
