Formula 1 inside
There is no super note for Verstappen from the team bosses
World champion Max Verstappen is voted driver of the year by the team bosses – but not unanimously. Meanwhile, Hinwil is waiting for a new boss to be appointed. Here is the F1 inside.
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The pit generals chose Verstappen (Red Bull), Leclerc (Ferrari) and Russell (Mercedes) for the top three places.
Roger BenoitFormula 1 expert
The voting is really secret in Formula 1 – and that’s why the ten team bosses have always been involved for years. They choose their ten best drivers of the season according to the World Championship points principle. Mathematically speaking, if everyone put the world champion (Verstappen this time) in first place, he would have to get 250 points. The Dutchman with 15 record victories and a lead of 146 points only managed 207. Mathematically and logically there is only one variant: five times first place, four times second and fifth again! A few years ago, Sir Lewis Hamilton was more than happy with 243 points: nine times winner, once second. Of the top ten, only Ocon (8th) did not make it into the top ten, but Vettel (12th) just made it into the team boss ranking! Bottas (10th), who experienced a horror season after halftime (only three points from the last 13 races!), even made it to ninth place in the pit generals.
Team Principals Driver Ranking
1. Verstappen (1st) 207
2. Leclerc (2nd)144
3.Russell (4th)127
4.Hamilton (6th)100
5. Perez (3rd)91
6.Norris (7th)81
7. Sainz (5th)68
8.Alonso (9th)67
9. Bottas (10th)29
10. Hag (12th)24
Same scoring as for GP: 25 points for 1st place, 18 points for 2nd place, etc. World Championship rank 2022 in brackets.
1. Verstappen (1st) 207
2. Leclerc (2nd)144
3.Russell (4th)127
4.Hamilton (6th)100
5. Perez (3rd)91
6.Norris (7th)81
7. Sainz (5th)68
8.Alonso (9th)67
9. Bottas (10th)29
10. Hag (12th)24
Same scoring as for GP: 25 points for 1st place, 18 points for 2nd place, etc. World Championship rank 2022 in brackets.
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Bottas’ ranking among the team bosses honors the Finns, but not the Alfa-Sauber team! Until the end, the permanent optimist and smooth talker Fred Vasseur (how will that be at Ferrari?) did not provide a single explanation as to why Bottas lost 43 positions in 14 of the 23 starting laps alone. This is by far the last place! When it comes to position changes after the first lap, Hamilton leads with 56 place gains ahead of Alonso (54), Verstappen (53) and Zhou (52).
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What’s new from Hinwil? Three more seasons until the big adventure with Audi, which will increase its workforce from 220 to 300 in Neuburg near Ingolstadt. Until then, one continues to hope for the Ferrari power. The new Sauber CEO, Andreas Seidl (46), has to present the new team boss in the next few days. In the Zurich Oberland, the Luxembourger Mike Krack (50) is the often heard preferred candidate. Like Seidl, he knows the Hinwil store from earlier times. The problem: Krack is still employed by Aston Martin. There he should be released if Binotto (who has fallen out of favor with Ferrari) comes for it. You see, Formula 1 is also dragging the rumor mill into the new year…
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The Sauber fans ask: will everything get better with Audi from 2026? Project manager Adam Baker (48) says: “After three years at the latest, we want to compete for victories!” That would be 20 years after the only triumph for Sauber (Kubica in Montreal 2008). With BMW power!