Three races, three more wins for Max Verstappen.
Domination Across Europe
F1 returned from its summer break with a triple-header in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.
There was initially hope that things may close up at the front, courtesy of the new Technical Directive focused on porpoising and the ‘flexi-floors’ which Red Bull and Ferrari were widely expected to have been benefiting from.
But as soon as Verstappen topped qualifying in Spa by well over half a second, took a grid penalty for a new power unit, and then proceeded to sail through the field and win comfortably from 14th on the grid, it was clear that – if anything – things had spread out further.
Whilst Spa was always likely to be a track that favoured Red Bull, Ferrari have seemingly been hampered more significantly than their former title rivals by the Technical Directive.
A week later at Zandvoort, the Scuderia arguably fell behind Mercedes in the pecking order.
Lewis Hamilton even looked set to challenge for his first victory of the season. On a different strategy, Verstappen looked like he would have to pass the seven-time world champion on track to take the victory.
However, the Safety-Car curse that has plagued Hamilton since Abu Dhabi last year kicked into life again.
A dodgy-looking debacle at AlphaTauri – which sent social media conspiracy theorists into overdrive – and then former teammate Valtteri Bottas’s retirement nullified Hamilton’s advantage.
A questionable strategy call by Mercedes to pit current teammate George Russell subsequently left him with no chance.
As has so often been the case, Ferrari had iffy strategy calls of their own at both Zandvoort and Monza.
Ultimately, though, Verstappen’s race pace looked too strong, irrelevant of those decisions, and he extended his championship lead to 116 points.
A Painful Dose of Déjà Vu
The Dutchman will now have his first chance to clinch the championship in Singapore. With five races still to come after that.
That is a level of dominance over one season that even Hamilton has never managed in the hybrid era. You have to go back to the years of Michael Schumacher to find something similar.
As I mentioned early in the season, a Verstappen domination was the last thing the sport needed in the wake of the 2021 finale controversy.
There was even a painful reminder of how the race in Abu Dhabi could and should have ended as Verstappen took the chequered flag under Safety Car conditions in Monza.
The Tifosi boos rang out, frustrated that their man – second-placed Charles Leclerc – had been denied the chance of a late battle for the win.
They had a point in that the race direction had once again been somewhat shambolic, the Safety Car erroneously picking up third-placed Russell instead of the leader.
But, considering the position in which they found themselves for the final laps, the decision not to restart the race was the correct one. Or at least it followed the rules as they currently read.
Whether or not they should be amended – perhaps for a default red flag within the last x number of laps – is a debate for another day.
But F1 found itself in another sticky situation – one which unfortunately opened up old wounds.
And there may now be salt on the horizon to apply to those wounds.
A new controversy building
I have tried so hard to fall back in love with Formula 1 this year.
As any long-term reader will have noticed, the regular race previews and reports have morphed into occasional catch-ups.
Whilst I am now busier with other journalism work, in truth it is more due to the rug that was swept from under my feet on 12th December 2021 taking a decent chunk of my passion and enthusiasm with it.
The lack of a title battle has certainly made it more difficult to rekindle the F1 fire that once burnt so strongly. Decisions made in Saudi Arabia and for the future have also played their part.
And now, it appears there may be another hurdle on the horizon.
The rumours of Red Bull not complying with the budget cap have been rumbling away for a while. Mattia Binotto has even been uncharacteristically outspoken at times.
But they have really built pace over the last 24 hours.
The truth will – hopefully – become clear in the next week or so regarding Red Bull and Aston Martin‘s alleged indiscretions.
If they do exist, F1 simply has to bring down the hammer.
They have to dissuade others from following suit. If the punishment is financial, the budget cap will become a joke even faster than football’s Financial Fair Play.
F1’s popularity in terms of numbers may be at an all-time high, but the integrity of the sport still feels like it is hanging by a thread.
The increased number of Sprint weekends next year was a disappointing if predictable change. But Stefano Domenicali continues to say more and more worrying things.
I have loved F1 since I was about three years old. I want to continue to do so. Please, stop making it so difficult.
