Suddenly he was there. With black sunglasses over his eyes, a long beige coat around his shoulders and with hands in pockets. All the attention of the photographers who had already gathered in front of Max Verstappen’s garage immediately went to that person, fifteen minutes after Verstappen had driven his first kilometers of the season.
It turned out to be none other than seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. The Briton wanted to see for himself which car his rival is driving this season. It was obvious: at the unofficial kick-off of the new Formula 1 season at the test days in Barcelona, all attention went to the man who became world champion in Abu Dhabi more than two months earlier.
On Wednesday, at exactly 09:00, a Dutchman as F1 world champion sent his car onto a circuit for the first time. Number 1, last used in the premier class by Sebastian Vettel in 2013, was printed in bold on the side and nose of Verstappen’s car. His new helmet had been given gold accents, as had his racing shoes. There was only one world champion, Verstappen radiated in Barcelona.
Satisfying
And after 147 laps in the sun on the Catalonia circuit – good for about 685 kilometers – he got out of the car cheerfully around 6 p.m. He liked the introduction to his ‘completely different’ car. “Everything worked fine today, so it was a good start,” he said.
Shortly afterwards, with the imprint of his helmet still on his face, he walked leisurely to his team building. It underlined that Verstappen had come through the winter well after last year’s much-discussed conclusion, in which he was able to overtake Hamilton on the last lap thanks to a controversial decision by race director Michael Masi.
He had previously said that he had not lost any sleep over the way he took the title. He deserved the championship, Verstappen thought. In fact, if he hadn’t had such bad luck himself, he would have been world champion long before Abu Dhabi.
However, the longest Formula 1 season ever had exhausted him. He didn’t want to know anything about a tribute. He only made an appearance at the FIA prize gala in Paris. Then he stepped out of spotlight. First with his in-laws in Brazil and then in Miami, far away from the places in the world where he cannot walk.
Busy with new season
It was not until mid-January that the first running and training videos appeared on his social media channels, which showed that he was fully engaged in the new season.
Whether Verstappen is able to extend his title is still completely unclear. His car is different in just about every way from the car in which he became champion. Formula 1 has completely turned the car rules upside down, with the aim of narrowing the differences between teams and creating cars that can overtake each other more easily. That together should make races more exciting.
Whether that succeeds remains to be seen. For example, the teams are working hard to find loopholes in the new rules. Two weeks ago, for example, at the unveiling of Verstappen’s RB18, Red Bull showed a meaningless show model of the 2022 car. Only on Wednesday was there a glimpse of Verstappen’s ‘real’ RB18. It also explains why Hamilton came to see the car early in the morning.
Different again
Racing stables try to keep revolutionary finds hidden from each other for as long as possible. Next month, at the final test and subsequent season start in Bahrain, Verstappen’s car will look different again.
In addition, the three test days in Barcelona have not even been formally designated by Formula 1 as a test, but as a so-called ‘shakedown† a first acquaintance with the new cars. This means that there is no filming along the track, the test cannot be followed live and that no public is allowed to be present.
That Verstappen had to go through the gravel box in the course of Wednesday morning was therefore only seen by a handful of journalists and photographers. For Verstappen, his first real working day as world champion was mainly about getting used to. First of all to his new car, but also to his new status. And that was perfectly possible in Barcelona on Wednesday.