Max Verstappen tried to be "as perfect as you can every single weekend" after initial DNFs in 2022 F1 season

Max Verstappen has revealed that he tried to be as perfect as possible after a horrible start to the season. The Red Bull driver had a disastrous start to the 2022 season, suffering from 2 DNFs in the first 3 races. After the third race of the season, Verstappen was 46 points behind Charles Leclerc in the championship race. It was from that point onwards that Max Verstappen turned his season around and won the title quite comfortably in the end.

Looking back at the 2022 F1 season, when asked by motorsport.com what the most satisfying part of the season was for him, Verstappen felt it was his ability to make the most of every race weekend. He said,

“You know when you have to fight for a title, you need to score points basically every race as much as you can. That’s why at the beginning of the year, it was very tough to have these DNFs. I knew from that point onwards, I could not afford any mistakes from my side, in case we would have retirements for whatever reason. You always try to be as clear as you can be and try to be as perfect as you can every single weekend. That’s what I try to demand from myself every time I jump into the car.”

Horner heaps praise on Max Verstappen's season

Red Bull's Team Principal Christian Hornerheaped praise on Max Verstappen's season when speaking at the FIA prize-giving event in Bologna. Horner talked about how Max drove with such maturity throughout the season and what was even more impressive was Verstappen's abilty to stay in contention despite not having the best car earlier in the season. Horner said,

“He’s driven with such maturity, with such composure this year, and he’s delivered some massive wins under huge pressure. It’s only when you look back at the season, and we’ve started to do that in the last week, when you think back to some of the races like Saudi or Miami or Montreal, there’s been some massive moments there."

He added,

“We didn’t have the quickest car at the beginning of the year. He very much kept us in contention and just kept pushing, and drove with phenomenal precision and pace. When there was an opportunity there to take, he grabbed it with both hands.”

Max Verstappen is now a two-time world champion and in all likelihood, will be defending his title against the likes of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and Charles Leclerc next season.