The cards are already face up and all the players have been exposed, especially in the case of Verstappen. The Dutch driver wants everything for himself and has even given the feeling that, once he has been proclaimed champion, he is only interested in continuing to win. It doesn’t matter that his teammate, his squire Sergio Perez, has covered Verstappen’s opponents’ backs and taken points throughout the season, that when the Mexican has needed the champion’s favor, the answer has been, “don’t ask me for those things.” So it was in Interlagos, in Brazil, when Max ignored team orders to let Checo through and thus leaving the runner-up tied, he repeated it in this weekend’s classification when Verstappen had to give Pérez a slipstream and in the race on Sunday, the Dutchman gave no option for anyone to take anything from him. The consequence, Pérez has lost the runner-up to Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari.
Revenge for Monaco, or perhaps a huge ego, desire and need to show who is the boss, that the boss is not asked to be in a position that does not correspond to him and a boss who has made it clear that he is obeyed , but no favors are asked of him. And be careful, Verstappen is a good boss, because no one has told him to shut up or scolded him for not being generous with his teammate. No one at Red Bull has said anything lest the champion get upset, get angry now that his driving is calm and efficient. The two-time world champion has proven to be an unscrupulous shark, a shark that works for itselfor but at the same time demands the best and others to be at their service. A true champion mentality.
Thus Ferrari has saved the furniture somewhat with the second position of Leclerc and the constructors’ runner-up that has ended up fighting with Mercedes, who have lacked a race to be able to move up the ranks. In any case, it has not been a good year for them, with too many retirements, strategic failures or faulty stops that have made it too easy for the del Toro team to defend the title. And the worst thing is that next year the air coming from Maranello is no different and in Mercedes it seems that they have changed scenery to be able to be the one who disputes everything against Red Bull.
Thus the year, the F1 season, is said goodbye with many goodbyes. The most prominent of Sebastian Vettelthe four-time champion leaves his seat in Aston Martín to a Fernando Alonso who has ended his romance with Alpine with an abrupt break and with the feeling that the infidelities were always inside the French garage. Latifi, Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo complete the list of drivers leaving the F1 circus in a year that, to be honest, and after the great change in technical and sports regulations, has let something down. More battles are expected, more equality between the pilots and nothing is further from reality. Let’s hope that Mercedes has found the key and can be a worthy enemy for the Escudería del Toro next season.
