By dominating the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Max Max Verstappen and Red Bull are now back in the fight for the 2022 Formula 1 world titles. After the first Italian weekend this season, the Milton Keynes team finds itself only 11 points behind Ferrari (124), as the Maranello team remains leader of the constructors’ classification despite the poor race in Imola, while the reigning world champion has come very close to Charles Leclerc, just 27 points behind the Monegasque, ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
But what is the situation after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix? Jacques Villeneuve, F1 world champion in ’97, talked about it in his usual editorial for Formule1.nl. The Canadian underlined that if Charles Leclerc wants to fight for the title he will have to battle with the Dutchman approaching the races in a “slightly” different way. Below is an excerpt from his analysis.
“Despite Max Verstappen’s victory, it is still difficult to say whether Red Bull has actually closed the gap. The difference so far is that Leclerc and Carlos Sainz make mistakes, while Red Bull has had to deal mainly with technical issues. Charles Leclerc made a mistake that you shouldn’t make when fighting for a title, he spun on his own. The pressure of racing in front of Ferrari’s ? In any case, he drove very aggressively.
Max Verstappen no longer makes these kinds of mistakes. It’s a super long season and weighing everything, it will all will probably balance out. Until last year, we were wondering if Verstappen could compete for a championship. Then, how he would behave under stress. In Italy he was perfect and this is a good step. Now Charles Leclerc must prove that he too is capable of doing it. As a contender for the title, you have to approach races differently than when you are fighting for an occasional victory, because you always have something to lose.” – Jacques Villeneuve concluded, at the end of the 2022 Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
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