Why Verstappen and Leclerc can bust a myth about early F1 coronations

OPINION: Having clinched the 2022 world title in Japan, Max Verstappen reckons the pressure is off heading into the final four races. But there is still plenty at stake both in terms of pride and, more significantly, potential history-in-the-making that means Red Bull's leading man and Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc will be all guns blazing as usual this weekend in Austin

Matt Kew Oct 18, 2022, 2:09 PM

For many, the final four rounds of this Formula 1 season will now arrive as little more than an afterthought. That’s understandable. Max Verstappen has wrapped up his second world title in good time and the much less exciting contest for the constructors’ crown is almost certainly going to go to Red Bull. Even though the battle for fourth between McLaren and Alpine will rage on, that’s a less compelling subplot. The major sporting headlines have already been written. 

Verstappen himself hasn’t done much to dispel that damp squib sentiment. Once the bewildering events that immediately followed the chequered flag in the Japanese Grand Prix had settled, he reckoned: “I’ve got four race weekends at least to celebrate… there is no real pressure anymore”. 

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.