Can 'unbeatable' Max Verstappen be crowned the 2022 F1 World Champion at Singapore GP?

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen picked up a maiden race win at the iconic Monza circuit last weekend and take a step forward towards a successful title defence. With the win, the reigning World Champion bettered his lead in the F1 2022 drivers championship standings by 116 points from second-placed Charles Leclerc. With only six rounds remaining in the F1 2022 World Championship, Verstappen can mathematically become a two-time world title-holder at the Marina Bay circuit during the Singapore GP weekend, which kicks off later this month. 

Max Verstappen has 335 points so far in the F1 2022 season

The 24-year-old currently has a total of 335 points to his credit, courtesy of 11 wins and podium finishes in two other races. On the other hand, Ferrari driver Leclerc sits 2nd in the standings with 219 points. While it looked like Ferrari would challenge Red Bull for both the drivers and constructors titles, this year, a series of DNFs due to reliability issues, crashes, and race strategy didn’t help the Italian manufacturers.

Road to Verstappen's second World Championship win

Meanwhile, the young Dutch driver’s charge towards a second world title seems unstoppable at the moment. In order to be crowned the 2022 drivers World Champion in Singapore, Verstappen must finish the race with a lead of 138 points over his nearest rival. He currently leads over Leclerc by 116 points, over his teammate Sergio Perez by 125 points, Geroge Russell by 132 points, and Carlos Sainz by 142 points. 

To win the Championship, the Italian GP champion needs to outscore Leclerc by 22 points, Perez by 13 points, Russell by six points, and Sainz by less than 10 points. This might be possible if he wins the Singapore GP 2022 and Leclerc finishes eighth or lower, while Perez finishes fourth or lower.

If he doesn’t secure the fastest lap, and still wins the race, he will be crowned champion with Leclerc finishing ninth or lower ahd Perez finishing fifth or lower with the fastest lap. In both circumstances, Leclerc would have to unusually have a poor race, while Perez would find himself out of the podium places in the same car as Verstappen.