How Verstappen and Red Bull went from disaster to record breakers in F1 2022

Max Verstappen and Red Bull appeared down and out after the opening three rounds, with Charles Leclerc and Ferrari on a charge. But in the end the Dutch driver and his team put together a dominant and record-breaking Formula 1 campaign. Here’s how the season unfolded and the key moments which decided the 2022 season

“At the moment, there is no reason to believe in it.” Can you envision, after all that ultimately went down in the 2022 Formula 1 season, that Max Verstappen really said those words in consideration of retaining the world title he’d won for the first time in 2021? But he did, in the wake of the Australian Grand Prix, where he’d suffered his second retirement of the first three races. At this point he faced a massive points deficit, but nevertheless ended up claiming the crown with four races to spare.

Verstappen’s second title was sealed in far less divisive circumstances than his first, although not without chaos, confusion and controversy at points along the way.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.