Max Verstappen reveals which race was the turning point for his 2022 F1 title defense bid

Max Verstappen feels it was the race at Imola that proved to be the turning point in the championship for him.

The Red Bull driver went to Imola facing a deficit of more than 40 points against rival Charles Leclerc. What was impressive to watch was Verstappen bouncing back immediately with not only a win but complete domination where he also won the sprint race and had the fastest lap as well.

While speaking to the media at the pre-race drivers' press conference, Verstappen was asked what he considered to be the turning point of the season. The Red Bull driver picked the race at Imola, saying:

"It's a very good question. I don't really know, don’t remember. Soon as we just started to… I mean, the Imola weekend was very good, like we had a really strong weekend. And then, of course, the gap was slowly reducing. That's normally always a good sign, but you can't afford… at the time we couldn't afford any more retirements. Of course, the gap now is very big so we could have had retirements but at the time, after already two DNFs so early on in the year we turned it around very quickly. But honestly, I don't really remember what race I thought that it was back on but I think for us, as a team, Imola was a very important weekend, to have that kind of result."

While talking about next season, Max Verstappen was questioned about how much of an impact the cost cap breach penalty would have on Red Bull. The Dutchman admitted that it would have an impact, but it was tough to say how much it would compromise the team's efforts. He said:

"Yeah. Well, I mean, it will affect us but how much? I don't know yet. But I'm confident that the team and the people we have can use that as extra motivation to try and do even better. I know, of course, they always give their best. But we have a very competitive car, we have a lot of great ideas, I think already for next year as well with the car and hopefully it's going to be enough."

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Max Verstappen feels 'the racing improved' with new F1 regulations

Max Verstappen gave his nod of approval to the new regulations as well, saying that he felt there had been an improvement in racing this season. He said:

"Yeah, definitely the racing improved. Some tracks are a little bit better than others but on some tracks it’s just very difficult to pass anyway, doesn't matter what car you use. But I think that has been the main target anyway. And, of course, there are always things that can be improved further. The ride of the cars, you know, they're very stiff at the moment and bouncing around a bit. But I think overall the rules have been pretty good."

Max Verstappen will be trying to better the record he broke in Mexico (most wins in a season) and pick up what would be his 15th win this year.