Max Verstappen is simply unstoppable at the moment—not as he races to a stunning victory in the Belgian Grand Prix or as he inexorably approaches a second straight world championship.
The Red Bull driver’s first championship may have been won in tumultuous and spectacular fashion in Abu Dhabi last year, but the only uncertainty around his second is when he will actually win it.
After the race at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff predicted that it will be by the time Formula 1 leaves Europe.
That is extremely unlikely because there will still be six races left after that in two races. However, after that, it now appears clearly possible that it might happen in either Singapore or Japan.
He will deserve it when the time comes. This season, his driving has been unmatched, and it was even more so in Spa.
On pole by more than 0.6 seconds; consistently at least a second faster than the rest of the race. He was “on another level,” as Sergio Perez, a Red Bull teammate, phrased it.
The Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described it as “a phenomenal performance”.
“Max was quite simply in a league of his own,” Horner said. “And not just today; all weekend. He has excelled here in the past and today he has basically smashed it out of the park.”
Horner added: “Max, since winning that championship last year, has taken another step. It’s in many ways released him, and he’s driving at an incredible level.
“A driver that is completely at one with the car and is in an absolute purple patch of his career.”
This win completes a perfect weekend for us @redbullracing. The car was unreal today, it felt like a rocketship 🚀
We’ll keep pushing as we want more of these, starting next week in Zandvoort pic.twitter.com/D3uQAZm3lE
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) August 28, 2022