Verstappen compared to Prost/Senna: 'Fantastic that he does that himself'

The 2022 season is officially over. Max Verstappen ended the year with a fifteenth victory in Abu Dhabi. Mika Hakkinen has nothing but praise for the performance of the Dutchman and Red Bull Racing.

Verstappen holds a new record this season with fifteen wins in a single season. In doing so, he has beaten Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver already secured his second world title in Japan.

"This race was just perfect for Max and underlined what a brilliant performance he and the Red Bull team have produced this season. Someone pointed out to me that in 1988 Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna won 15 Grands Prix from 16 races for McLaren, so for Max to do that himself is quite fantastic. He has speed and consistency", Hakkinen writes in his column for Unibet.

Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez, meanwhile, battled for second place in the drivers' championship. The Mexican driver got closer and closer to the Monegasque's car in the closing stages of the race, but it was ultimately not enough to overtake the Ferrari driver. Leclerc took P2 in the championship with a three-point lead. Hakkinen believes he deserved the second spot.

Indeed, with nine pole positions and three wins, the Monegasque posed a "real threat" to Verstappen in the first half of the season. "To finish 2nd will definitely give him and everyone at Ferrari extra focus to challenge for the championship next year", says the former Formula One driver.