Max Verstappen Breaks Single-Season Record With 2022 F1 Mexico GP Victory
His first place finish in Mexico gave Verstappen 14 wins on the season, breaking the record held by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
Red Bull' Max Verstappen left the 2022 Mexico grand prix with yet another victory. It's almost becoming too predictable, as there just isn't any real competition for the Dutchman, who snagged his 14th GP win this season, breaking the single-season record held by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
It was also a good day for Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez, who finished third in his home country. His third place finish gave Red Bull two podium finishers on the day and even more points on the season, even after clinching the constructor's title during last week's United States grand prix. Lewis Hamilton took second place, after holding off a hard-charging Perez all race.
Though, the big news is Verstappen breaking the single-season grand prix win record. While it sort of seemed inevitable a few weeks ago, it's still noteworthy, especially with two more races left on the calendar. Although, F1 fans will want to put an asterisk on Verstappen's record, as he benefits from four more races on the calendar than Schumacher had, giving him more opportunities to break the record. Giving Verstappen critics even more ammunition with which to criticize his record is the fact that it took him 20 races to break the record, whereas Schumacher did it in 17 of the 18 total races that season.
Unfortunately, with both Verstappen and team Red Bull already clinching their titles for the season, the final two races for the season could just be the rich getting richer. Especially since Perez is now in second place behind Verstappen in the driver's standings, so team Red Bull could finish out the season with a constructor's title and both first and second place in the driver's standings. Hell, Verstappen even has the most fastest lap awards this season. It's just an embarrassment of riches for Red Bull and, barring any unforeseen catastrophes, those riches will continue to pile up for the final two races.
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