The match point is approaching for Max Verstappen

There are seven races left on the 2022 season calendar. Max Verstappen, who had a rough start to the year, eventually crushed all suspense and overwhelmed the competition.

He has achieved four consecutive victories between France and the Netherlands. A repeat could happen in Monza this weekend, on the home turf of a Scuderia Ferrari that constantly trips over its own feet.

Before the final European round, Max Verstappen has a 109-point lead over Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez. This represents four wins, four fastest laps, and two ninth-place finishes. Never before has such a gap been observed at this stage of a season, greatly helped by the new scoring system introduced in 2010.

It is hard to imagine how the fight for the title could be revived, unless there is an unimaginable catastrophe for the Dutch competitor.

Will Verstappen be crowned champion in Singapore?

The Dutchman (turning 25 on September 30th) has all the cards in hand to be the champion. The sooner he becomes one, the better off he will be, don’t you agree?

Now it is about envisioning the most favorable scenario for him: he could prevail with the fastest lap in the race, which would be worth 26 points. If Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez were to retire or finish outside the top 10, his lead would then increase to 135 points. With six races remaining, it would still be insufficient.

But “Mad Max” could secure a first match point as early as October 2nd, in Singapore. After this deadline, there would still be 138 points to distribute: five wins and five fastest laps (for a total of 130 points), adding the eight points for winning the sprint race in Brazil.

In other words: if, in Singapore, his lead reached 138 points, he would be the world champion. Even if Leclerc were to equalize with him in Abu Dhabi, the advantage of victories would go to the Dutchman. But, the most likely scenario at the moment remains Japan. To be crowned on Honda’s home turf, he needs to have a lead of 112 points, which is a total close to the advantage he currently has.

With his 109-point lead and still 7 races to go, Max Verstappen must not lose more than 15.6 units per race if he wants to retain his title.

We are far from last year’s epic scenario, but there are still some great races to experience!

The number of points remaining to distribute