Max Verstappen can run with the number one car next season after winning the world championship at Suzuka for the second year running. He claimed 33 wins in the following race at Austin, matching the number of runs he had used for each F1 season until becoming champion.
That 33rd victory moved Fernando Alonso into sixth place on the all-time list of all-time winners.
It was his 13th win of the season, equaling the feat achieved by Michael Schumacher in 2004 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013. Verstappen has a high chance of breaking that record.
The victories recorded by the three multi-championships make for an interesting comparison. Verstappen’s Red Bull predecessor Vettel took all 13 of his 2013 front-row wins in a 19-round season – the same number of races so far this year. Nine years ago, Schumacher needed just 18 races to win 13 times, and only two of those came from the front row.
Verstappen, however, took 6 wins from the front row and only 4 from pole position. His average starting position over the 13 wins is 3.92 to Schumacher’s 1.85 and Vettel’s 1.38.
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Verstappen’s win ensured Red Bull took their fifth Constructors’ Championship, and first since 2013. This meant Red Bull’s power unit operation, running rebadged Hondas, won the championship at their first attempt. The last engine manufacturer to win the championship in their first season was Repco in 1966.
Red Bull recorded their eighth consecutive victory. They can equal their best in the next race – Vettel scored nine in a row at the end of 2013.
Carlos Sainz Jr gave Ferrari their first pole position at the Circuit of the Americas. In the year It was the first time Ferrari had pole position for the United States Grand Prix since Schumacher did it at Indianapolis in 2006. However, it was Ferrari’s second mark in the United States this year. Charles Leclerc took pole for the Miami Grand Prix, but there it went to Verstappen as Austin won.
This was the third pillar of Sainz’s career. It now has the likes of Jose Frolán González, Tony Brooks, Dan Gurney, Jean-Pierre Jarrier, Jody Schecter, Elio De Angelis and Theo Fabi and Daniel Ricciardo. It didn’t do him much good in the race, but because he was taken in the first corner. Not only was it his sixth consecutive retirement, but it was also the second time this year that he had completed the same round in two consecutive races.
Sainz’s finishing driver, George Russell, was the only driver on soft tires in the final two laps, setting the fastest lap. That was the third of his career, which, like Sainz, also included Pierre Gasly and former drivers Brooks, Jarir, Bill Vukovich, Bruce McLaren, Richie Guenther, Jochen Rindt, Chris Amon and Keke Rosberg.
Sebastian Vettel became eighth in Austin after Fernando Alonso became the seventh different driver to officially lead a race at Suzuka this year. It was his first time leading the race since last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Alonso’s post-race penalty – which is being protested – pushed Vettel up to seventh. He overtook Kevin Magnussen on the final lap, however, giving the team only the points to finish in the home race. The first came in 2016 by Romain Grosjean.
Have you seen any other interesting statistics and facts from the United States Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.
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2022 United States Grand Prix
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