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Verstappen faces competition from Hamilton in most dominant championship
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen secured his second Formula 1 world title during (or rather after) the Japanese Grand Prix. With four Grands Prix to go, the Red Bull Racing driver is unbeatable by closest rivals Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc. How early did the decision for the world championship fall in recent seasons?
On 9 October, Verstappen was awarded the trophy at the Suzuka circuit. In the hybrid era (under the new points system), no driver managed to capture the title so early in the year if we look purely in terms of date. If we look at how many races are left to go after the title is conceded, it is also Verstappen who emerges as the 'most dominant' driver.
Relatively speaking, however, the 2020 coronavirus season was the most impressive. Lewis Hamilton took his seventh world title at the Turkish Grand Prix on 15 November. At that time, there were still three races to go, one less than Verstappen has to go this year. However, the difference is that Hamilton managed to take the championship in 14 races.
Which F1 years were dominant?
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The British champion was 110 points ahead of runner-up Valtteri Bottas after the Turkey GP. Verstappen was 93 points ahead of the number two after 14 GPs this year [after the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps]. Hamilton thus managed to build a bigger lead than Verstappen in as many races, but it should also be noted that Ferrari managed to make things a lot harder for Red Bull this year (especially in the first half of the season) than Red Bull Mercedes did that year. Moreover, Verstappen dropped out twice early this season with technical malcontents this year, something Hamilton did not suffer from in his first 14 races.
Hamilton class apart in 2015
Hamilton's 2015 season was also very dominant. In the sixteenth GP of the year (on 25 October), he took his world title by winning the race in the United States. At that time, there were still three races to go. It was a year in which Mercedes dominated, as only Ferrari managed to win only three times that year. After Hamilton won in Austin, by the way, he took it easy. The last three weekends were won by teammate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton eventually managed to win ten of the 19 races in 2015. Verstappen stands on 12 wins after 18 races, so relatively speaking, Verstappen is doing a bit better than his Mercedes rival. However, Verstappen will have to keep winning in the final GPs this year in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi to finish percentage-wise above Hamilton.