While the 2021 season is over and we are now looking ahead to the coming season, it is impossible not to think back to what happened last year. The results are final, and Max Verstappen is the champion, but the FIA is still conducting an investigation into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. A rather strange series of events at the end of that race gave Verstappen the chance to win when it looked as though Lewis Hamilton was cruising to his record-setting 8th World Championship. The results of the investigation will not change the final result of last season, but it may well have a bearing on whether or not Hamilton decided to return to F1 in 2022. That decision will have a ripple effect that will impact the entire sport. While we wait for all of that to play out, let’s take a look at Verstappen’s chances of repeating as champion so you can bet against the Formula 1 Championship Odds.
F1 2022 Drivers Championship: Will Max Verstappen Win Again?
What Happens if There is No Hamilton in 2022?
If Lewis Hamilton does indeed decide to sit out the coming season, the consensus would probably be that Verstappen will have his second championship in hand long before the season comes to a close. That would certainly make sense, as there doesn’t really seem to be another driver out there who could mount a series run at the title. That said, you also wonder what the absence of a serious challenger would do to Verstappen. Will he relax a little with Hamilton out of the picture and no clear challenger on the horizon, or will he do his best to lay waste to the competition in every single race? Given his tenacity as a driver, the latter seems like the more likely option.
Have We Seen the Best of Verstappen?
What many people seem to forget is that Verstappen is still just 24 years of age. Last season was one for the ages, but you do have to wonder if there is even better to come. Hamilton is at an age where a lot of drivers slow down or think about retiring, so the path could be clear for Verstappen for quite some time to come. He is part of a great team, has an outstanding car, and is in possession of the type of thirst to win that you really don’t see that often. You also have to think that, even after winning the championship, he may still have a chip on his shoulder. There are some who see his title in 2021 as being flawed given how that final race went, but this is a man that win 10 races on the year. That’s a pretty astonishing performance that probably warranted the title.
Will Verstappen Win Again in 2022?
That is not an easy question to answer until we get a better idea of what Lewis Hamilton will be doing this season. If Hamilton does indeed sit it out, I don’t see any way in which Verstappen doesn’t repeat as the champion. If Hamilton is in, which we all hope he is, then we could well be looking at another great battle like the one we saw in 2021.
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