Max Verstappen has sewn up the drivers championship with four races remaining in the 2022 season.
Now his team is poised to clinch the constructors’ title this weekend. But the sport was plunged into controversy one week ago by the revelation the team failed to comply with the Financial Regulations during 2021.
That is likely to prove the main talking point as Formula 1 heads to Circuit of the Americas for its second race in the USA this year.
Red Bull set to clinch title
As is often said, the drivers’ title brings prestige but it is the constructors’ championship which determines how much money the teams win. It is therefore highly prized.
Mercedes’ run of eight consecutive titles will end this year. Ferrari retains a slender mathematical chance of winning, but realistically Red Bull are on course for a coronation. Unless Ferrari out-score them by 19 points this weekend, Red Bull will clinch the title in Austin.
But it comes after the FIA cast doubt on the means by which Red Bull achieved their titles. One week ago the sport’s governing body belatedly issued the findings of its examination of the teams’ 2021 finances, and noted Red Bull was the only team to have exceeded the $145 million spending limit. It, along with Aston Martin, was also found not to have fully complied with the procedures of the financial regulations.
What that means for the titles Red Bull won last year or their successes this year remains to be seen. There are few who seriously expected the FIA would retroactively confiscate a title from a driver or a team. But a lesser punishment might be too weak to deter others breaking the same rules in the future.
Mercedes’ victory prospects dwindling
After Mercedes’ deficit to Red Bull and Ferrari was confirmed to be genuine in the early phase of the season, there remained an expectation that the eight-time consecutive constructors’ world champions would eventually catch up to their rivals and be in the fight for race wins and even the titles themselves as the season progressed. Eventually, with each weekend that went by, that proved not to pass.
But there are still four grands prix remaining of the 2022 season. With that, there are only four opportunities remaining for Mercedes to avoid their first winless season in the V6 turbo era.
Mercedes head to the United States following two rounds in Singapore and Japan where, by driver George Russell’s admission, they had…
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