Adrian Newey has identified the Hungarian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen's finest drive after he clinched the 2022 Formula 1 title in the Japanese Grand Prix. A penalty for Charles Leclerc promoted Sergio Perez to P2 post-race, enough to secure Verstappen a second title after some brief rules confusion. It was also the 12th win of the season for the Dutchman, as Red Bull design chief Newey highlighted Verstappen's best of them.
Hungary was Verstappen's best
In Budapest, Verstappen started 10th following a problem in qualifying but won despite a spin for to head comfortably into the summer break. "I think Hungary was because it was so measured is you know?' Newey explained to Viaplay. "Obviously we had a we had a problem with the caseshaft, so qualified 10th on the grid, and so to come through like that, and be so disciplined in the way he came through - picking one car off at a time - he just did everything perfectly." "We had a clutch problem, which meant we had to stop him from using DRS for a while in the middle of the race. "Obviously our partners - Honda - to celebrate the championship in Japan is very special for them, I'm sure and for everybody back in Milton Keynes, the guys and girls, the technical team. "Although it might not seem it from the outside, it has been quite a high pressure year. Because early on Ferrari were giving us a very hard time. We had a good few races, but you never quite know whether there's going to be a twist at the end.
Marko surprise
Helmut Marko, who put Verstappen in the Red Bull back in 2016 expressed his surprise at Verstappen's title win - saying they had a flight home from Nagoya airport at 8pm local time! "We have a flight at eight o'clock from Nagoya. We already have commitments. We didn't really expect that we are winning here," he said to Viaplay. "Don't worry we will celebrate so we have four more races to go which we also would like to win. Texas is a good place. Mexico is a good place for making parties."
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