The Formula 1 World Cup 2022 ended in Japan, after the victory of Verstappen at Suzuka which gave him his second title. From there, the fight became for the runner-upsomething that Leclerc and Pérez fought.
A battle that generated a lot controversy when Verstappen did not let gor in Brazil to his teammate to get more points than Charles. At the same time, Ferrari did not want Sainz to give up his position to the Monegasque because Alonso was close and they didn’t want risks, they were also fighting for the constructors’ runner-up with Mercedes.
So that, Leclerc and Perez they arrived at the last race tied in second position, whoever finished in front would be second in the drivers’ championship.
Red Bull handled internal issues behind closed doors and, in the end, we saw Max giving Checo a slipstream in qualifying, something that helped him to finish second ahead of Leclerc. However, for once Ferrari knew how to change strategy in time and finished beating him heading to Red Bull in boxes.
Sainz confessed, after the race, that they had had very strict team orders according to motorsport.com: “We work as a team. I had clear and strict instructions since before the race that couldn’t fight with him at the start or at the pit stops”.
“We had a good weekend in that regard and I’m happy for him, honestly, because I really think he deserves that runner-up. It has been very strong all year with this new generation of cars. He has driven very well and I had to adapt and change my driving a bit to try to be closer to him”, added the driver from Madrid.
