Usually, those athletes who are able to transcend their specialty to the point of being viewed as phenomena maintain the tension and sacrifice driven by ego; for that feeling that makes them manifest their superiority. In Formula 1, most world champions share this characteristic. Lewis Hamilton no longer competes to win, but to make history and Max Verstappen wants to be remembered as the one responsible for breaking British and Mercedes hegemony, to the same extent as he did with Fernando Alonso, when (2005) he broke up with scooter riders Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, five consecutive titles between 2000 and 2004.
The previous names also share another quality: the bad milk they exude when considering that the car they drive doesn’t have the necessary features to realize their full potential. If we factor in Verstappen’s volcanic personality, Red Bull is fortunate to have Adrian Newey, one of the most influential engineers in the world championship and the crucial piece in the car’s design that proclaimed the Dutchman for the second time. time champions at Suzuka and the energetic team celebrated the constructors’ title at Austin last week.
There, at the Circuit of the Americas, Mad Max collected his 13th win of the year, putting him on a par with Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013). This Sunday, at the Hermanos Rodríguez circuit (9pm, Dazn) in Mexico, the Dutchman will be aiming for his 14th track victory to distance himself from the two Germans and become the most successful pilot in the same exercise. He will do so with the advantage of starting first – sixth pole position for him – after qualifying which saw Carlos Sainz fifth and Fernando Alonso ninth. To achieve his goal, Verstappen has the world’s best car on the grid, even if the Ferrari adds more pole position (12 to 7 from Red Bull). Faithful to the coldness that characterizes him, the boy from Hasselt assures that he is not conditioned by the possibility of adding another record to his collection. “Of course I’m proud to have won so many races. But I don’t pay attention to those kinds of statistics. Also, it’s not entirely fair considering that the championship is getting longer and longer,” explains the great dominator of this year 2022.
Newey did it again. The technician took advantage of the window of opportunity offered by the shaky technical regulations, particularly in the area of aerodynamics, which he dominates, and designed the sharpest car of all; able to prevail in 15 of the 19 stops on the calendar played so far, reaching 18 out of 22 by a margin. If a plenary session is achieved between Verstappen and Checo Pérez, his workshop neighbor, in the three remaining appointments before the Big Circus closes the curtain in Abu Dhabi (November 20), the percentage of efficiency of the Red Buffalo prototype will reach 81.2% fixed; meaning he would win eight events out of ten. The RB18’s ratio puts it the eighth most effective car of all time, although it’s worth noting here that a 22-test practice had never been organised. Just ahead, in seventh place (83.3%), is the Ferrari with which Schumacher won his last crown in 2004, winner of 15 of 18 Grands Prix.
First on this list is the McLaren MP4/4, with which Ayrton Senna won the first of his three titles, in that explosive 1988 that saw his relationship with Alain Prost blown up. The brain that invented this miracle with which the Brazilian and Frenchman shared 15 of the 16 wins put into play (93.7% effectiveness) is none other than Newey.
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