![]() He also finished sixth in the championship – his poorest result in 16 seasons – and scored 35 fewer points than his less established team-mate George Russell. The 37-year-old lost his unique record of winning at least one race in every year of his career. That never looked on the cards at any point though and after the final race, Hamilton departed the Yas Marina Circuit following, statistically, his worst season. However, he was persuaded to return to avenge the nightmare of Abu Dhabi and claim a record eighth crown. Hamilton considered retiring from the sport following Michael Masi’s botched handling of the 2021 season finale. He has been in a different postcode to Hamilton and Mercedes, and Charles Leclerc’s encouraging start to the season with Ferrari imploded through faults by man and machine. That said, nothing should be taken away from Verstappen, who is in the purple patch of his career.Īside from two significant blips at the penultimate round in Brazil – a collision with Hamilton and subsequent refusal to switch positions with team-mate Sergio Perez – Verstappen has become a more measured version of the win-at-all-costs driver of last year, aided in part by the lack of a major rival. Sport is built on rivalries and the absence of a Hamilton-Verstappen rematch has been a major blow to F1. In the F1 betting odds, Verstappen is the 4/5 favourite to make it three in a row in 2023. Given that Verstappen celebrated his 25th birthday only in September, and is probably yet to reach his peak at a Red Bull team built for him, it is not hyperbole to suggest Hamilton’s win record, and perhaps even the Briton’s championship haul of seven – a record he shares with Schumacher – is starting to look vulnerable. Only Lewis Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53), Alain Prost (51) and Ayrton Senna (43) sit above him. ![]() The Dutch driver’s victory in Abu Dhabi was his 15th of the season and 35rd of his career. Is F1 braced for a period of Verstappen domination? With the dust having settled on the 2022 season, we look at five questions and the F1 betting odds for 2023. The Formula One season concluded with Max Verstappen winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to complete a memorable campaign as he secured back-to-back world titles.
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