You can’t stop Max Verstappen, regardless of which continent the Formula 1 driver is racing on.
On Sunday, Verstappen overcame some early obstacles and caught Lewis Hamilton late to win the 2022 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in August, Texas.
With 15 laps to go, Hamilton had the lead. However, Verstappen made up for lost time from a long pitstop due to a faulty wheel gun that had caused him to plummet down the rankings. He worked his way back up the leaderboard, swapping positions with Charles Leclerc a few times before eventually catching Hamilton and passing him on Lap 50. After that, it was a foregone conclusion.
With the victory, Verstappen matches Sebastian Vettel’s and Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in a single season. His first-place finish, coupled with teammate Sergio Perez’s fourth-place finish, also earned Red Bull Racing its fifth Constructor’s Cup title and its first since 2013.
That was a bittersweet accomplishment as team founder Dietrich Mateschitz died on Saturday, which impacted the team and its drivers. Verstappen discussed what it meant to win following that tragedy.
The big victory on U.S. soil had a lot of racing fans offering some strong reactions to the news of Verstappen’s win, the record that he matched, and Red Bull Racing’s accomplishments.