"Max Verstappen stole the 2021 F1 title, but he has been superior this year," feels former Ferrari driver

Former Ferrari driver Rene Arnoux reckons Max Verstappen stole the 2021 F1 title from Lewis Hamilton because of what happened in the last race of the season.

Following a controversial decision to restart the race on the last lap, Verstappen overtook Hamilton to win his first world title to seal a titanic title race. Talking to FormulaPassion, Arnoux termed the events in Abu Dhabi last year as scandalous. He said:

"In 2021 he stole it (the title). Never before had such an unintelligent decision as that of whoever managed the safety car been seen. It was a scandal."

Nevertheless, Arnoux did recognise Verstappen's talent, as he rated the Red Bull driver a bit higher than Charles Leclerc this season.

One key instance he pointed out was what happened at the first corner in the F1 Japanese GP this season where Leclerc had a better start than Verstappen. However, the Red Bull driver was able to brake later in torrential conditions and win the race. Arnoux said:

"Red Bull was superior this year, and Verstappen was the same. Several times, like in Zandvoort, he has slaughtered the race. He and Leclerc are very close, but Max has one more thing, what he did at the first corner of Suzuka: the nailed down in the rain, on the outside."

He continued:

"When he serves, he is able to brake after the others. The strongest? Verstappen and Leclerc, and I give 51 to Max and 49 to Charles, for the first corner after the start. For the nailing he does there and because he forces the others to put their foot up. It takes balls."

Verstappen won the 2022 title with four races to go.

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Max Verstappen gets voted best driver by team principals and peers

Max Verstappen was the best driver on the grid this season. He has now received praise from his peers and team principals. The Red Bull driver, with 207 points, was ranked at the top by team principals, ahead of Charles Leclerc and George Russell.

Even in the rankings shared by the drivers, the Red Bull driver was at the top with Charles Leclerc in second, while George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were joint third.

The 2022 F1 season was complete domination from Max Verstappen. He won a lot more races than he did in 2021 and was also more dominant. In terms of aggression, he played the long game a bit more compared to a year earlier.

It's going to take a lot to dethrone Verstappen next season, but it's going to be interesting to see the likes of Leclerc, Hamilton and Russell give it a go.