'If Verstappen starts on pole more often he will be very difficult to beat'

Max Verstappen has two pole positions compared to six for Charles Leclerc in the 2022 Formula One season. Yet the numbers are reversed when it comes to wins. Combined with his large lead in the championship, this is, according to The Race this is a reflection of his top performance in the current season.

The Ferrari is generally the faster car on Saturday but usually loses out to Red Bull Racing's RB18 on Sunday. In addition, the Italian team has missed so many opportunities that Verstappen has won more times when Leclerc was on pole than the Ferrari driver himself. This was the case in Miami, Spain and Baku.

Verstappen a threat to his rivals

Verstappen, on the other hand, has only started from pole twice but managed to convert those into victory both times. His Red Bull is particularly strong in the race and only seems to get stronger. Combined with the fact that Ferrari shot themselves in the foot a couple of times, this serves as a warning to Verstappen's rivals, according to Scott Mitchell of The Race.

"If Verstappen’s capable of winning this much and building this big a points advantage while battling certain limitations, what’s still to come if Red Bull makes its car that little bit more potent?" says Mitchell.

"should be very worried about him becoming a greater qualifying threat," he continued. "Put Verstappen on pole position more often at the level he’s at and he will be an opponent that Ferrari struggles to beat even if it does stop being so wasteful."