Don’t Stop Me Now - Japan 2022
Source: FIA
Max Verstappen is your 2022 world champion. The news may have been a surprise but the result was anything but. Verstappen’s performance in Suzuka served as a metaphor for his performance all season – dominant. Despite a shortened race due to disruption from heavy rainfall, Verstappen stretched one of the largest winning margins of the 2022 season. The Dutchman was in a league of his own, but what made for such a performance? Let’s jump straight into it.
The dominance that Echoed the Season that was
Chart 1: Race Story – Cumulative Delta Plot
Verstappen lined up in pole position joined alongside by Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. The lights went out and it was Leclerc that had the early advantage with the better start as Verstappen got bogged down by wheelspin. It looked as if Leclerc had the move done and dusted but Verstappen hung it around the outside of turns 1 and 2, taking the karting line on the outside that fared with better grip in the slippery conditions. Verstappen could retain his lead going into the esses before starting to stretch out a lead around the rest of the Suzuka circuit.
This was crucial for Verstappen, as it ensured he retained the race lead following the race restart after the early red-flag period in light of the wreckage from Carlos Sainz’s aquaplaned Ferrari. After a long delay and some laps behind the safety car, the race got under way for the second time. Nicholas Latifi and Sebastian Vettel were the only drivers bold enough to switch to intermediate tyres following the end of the safety car period. But the early stoppers didn’t have to wait long before reaping the rewards of their gamble.
Chart 2: Pit Stop Gain and Loss
It wasn’t long before the rest of the field came into the pits for the intermediate tyres including Verstappen, Leclerc and Perez. But Leclerc had a slow stop that was made worse by the traffic in the pitlane, costing the Monegasque crucial race time as shown in the chart above. This put Leclerc on the back foot, after having kept up with Verstappen in the few laps following the safety car restart.
Chart 3: Tyre Degradation Compared – Leclerc vs Verstappen
Chart 4: Tyre Degradation Across the Field
Coming back to Chart 1 earlier and Leclerc was maintaining his gap to Verstappen until lap 12 at which point Leclerc’s tyres started to degrade. The wear deteriorated quickly and meaningfully as showcased in Chart 3 above. By lap 16, Leclerc’s degradation was equivalent to that of the median driver and a long way from that of Verstappen. In fact, looking at Chart 4 shows that Leclerc’s overall degradation coefficient was one of the worst in the field.
Further to this, Perez’s performance was better for the majority of the intermediate stint, helping him close the gap with Leclerc. By lap 22, Perez was on Leclerc’s gearbox and was looking for the perfect opportunity to make the pass. This opportunity came at the final chicane on the final lap, with Leclerc locking up and going long. The Monegasque was forced to the escape road and had to wrangle the car to get it back on the track ahead of Perez. But the move of desperation was not clean and Leclerc’s off-track excursion was swiftly met with a 5-second penalty that would demote him to P3 would take him out of contention for the championship while also awarding Verstappen the ultimate accolade.
Verstappen’s championship triumph in Japan may have felt premature thanks to the decision to award full points. But whether the confetti flew in Suzuka or in Austin, it was only a matter of time before the Dutchman took the top honours for this year. Be that as it may, the closing of the curtains in Japan was at least fitting for Honda – who have played a key part in Red Bull’s recent resurgence to the top step of the sport. Congratulations to Max and Red Bull for their impressive performance over the course of the 2022 season. It has been a true union between driver, machine and team to deliver such a dominant undertaking.
Watchpoints for the Next Grand Prix
With the main championship fight done and dusted, attention shifts further down the order – with all eyes poised on the battle between Alpine and McLaren for P4 in the constructor’s championship. The remaining races represent a mix of fast and slow circuits – meaning that there’s no clear advantage to one team over the other. Which team will maximise their opportunities and limit their mistakes? Only one way to find out. I’ll see you at the next one!
