Even just a couple of weeks ago it would have been reasonable to ask if the Age of Lewis Hamilton was over and the era belonging to Max Verstappen already in full flow.
The Mercedes driver, a record-equalling seven-time world champion, had not won a grand prix in 12 months while the Dutchman stormed to back-to-back titles.
Two championships in a row in themselves suggest a changing of the guard, especially the fashion of the one finishing Sunday in Abu Dhabi: with a record number of victories in the most dominant season in the sport’s history.
Formula One’s history is dotted with such transfers of power. The Ayrton Senna era was followed by one lorded by Michael Schumacher from 1994, then Fernando Alonso in 2005 and Lewis Hamilton from 2008.
And now it’s Verstappen’s turn, or so it seemed until Mercedes threw a spanner in the works at Interlagos, where George Russell stormed to his maiden F1 victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix followed in second by teammate Hamilton.
It was not just that they won but the utter, sudden, devastating superiority, of the 1-2 providing some evidence the page of history had not, quite yet, fully turned on them.
There is no question, of course, that as drivers Verstappen and Hamilton share a fiercely fast and pugnacious calibre.
Hamilton is a carefully manicured creation, well-financed and fully refined at each level of competition before the next step towards F1 was allowed, then making his debut off the back of the most comprehensive winter testing programme the sport has ever seen.
Verstappen, on the other hand, arrived in F1 less than 12 months after his final kart race. A desperate throw of the dice by a Red Bull team at a crossroads, gambling on a talented 17-year-old.
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Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen celebrates after his victory at the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, a victory that ultimately ensured he retain his drivers' world title. AFP -
Max Verstappen poses with the trophy on the podium following his victory at the Japanese Grand Prix. AFP -
Max Verstappen celebrates with his team after winning the Japanese Grand Prix. Reuters -
Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Japanese Grand Prix. Reuters -
Red Bull's Max Verstappen crosses the line to win the Japanese Grand Prix. Reuters -
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Japanese Grand Prix. Reuters -
Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Japanese Grand Prix. Reuters -
Red Bull's Max Verstappen in action during the Japanese Grand Prix. Reuters -
Max Verstappen leads the race after a restart during the Japanese Grand Prix. EPA -
Max Verstappen competes during the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. AFP -
Max Verstappen leads the race after a restart during the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka. EPA -
Max Verstappen leads Ferrari's Charles Leclerc during the Japanese Grand Prix. Getty
Hamilton won his first title in his second F1 season, aged 23. Verstappen had to wait seven years but was still only 24. The second came a shade under 10 months later, nine days after his 25th birthday. Hamilton’s took another six years. He was 29.
That is why Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is so much more fascinating. Not just a watershed between two generations of titans but a clash of cultures that created them, Mercedes’ motor racing aristocracy versus Red Bull’s rebels.
Until recently Hamilton’s 2022 results have had all the hallmarks of a veteran in decline: fading form and uncharacteristic errors.
It was clear the car, unloved as it was, was capable of more because new teammate Russell was proving it.
As the season has gone on speculation mounted we had seen the last of the blistering performances that moulded a seven-time champion.
Just before the summer break Hamilton rediscovered much of his mojo but at the restart it was more of the same.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari fumbled their championship chance and a ruthless Verstappen didn’t have to be asked twice.
From Imola he won seven times in 10 races. After the summer interlude there were six wins in eight to tuck away the drivers and constructors championships. His error-free speed as remarkable as it was relentlessness.
Then on Sunday the Hamilton of old re-emerged. The scent of a chance allied to a suddenly, and mysteriously, competitive car was enough to produce the old fire. Mercedes were as surprised as anyone by their own competitiveness.
But a bigger hurdle had already emerged for Red Bull in the shape of 'Costcapgate'. A self-inflicted own goal tainting their 2022 title as much as the first had been, but in a different way.
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Race winner and 2021 F1 world champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull Racing team celebrate on the podium after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on December 12, 2021. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen fought off Lewis Hamilton in a nail-biting finish. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen runs to celebrate with his team. Victor Besa / The National -
The Dutch driver clinched the race and the championship on the final lap. Victor Besa / The National -
Race fans cheer as Verstappen wins. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen enjoys that winning feeling. Reuters -
Verstappen drinks in the moment as Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton looks dejected after finishing second. Reuters -
Verstappen and Hamilton go head to head on the track. Victor Besa / The National -
An Etihad Airways flyover before the race. The airline sponsored the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen in action. Victor Besa / The National -
Hamilton took an early lead. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen and Hamilton led the championship going into the final race. Victor Besa / The National -
The start of the race. Reuters -
Drivers pose for their end-of-season picture before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. AP -
Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel before the race. Reuters -
Fans of Verstappen and Hamilton before the race. Reuters -
Hamilton looks relaxed before the race. Reuters -
Verstappen looks like he means business. Reuters -
Hamilton soaks up the early atmosphere. Victor Besa / The National -
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas with his girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen arrives at the circuit with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet. Reuters -
Hamilton on the Yas Marina Circuit. AFP
Whether Red Bull overspent knowingly or not, as they maintain, is a moot point. Either way it leaves a postscript that will live like an unwelcome smell in the history books.
A year ago here on Yas Island, Michael Masi made a mistake under pressure that poisoned Red Bull’s achievement unjustly. Most would admit Verstappen was champion in spirit anyway.
This year the Dutchman was setting the record straight until the FIA ruled his team had broken the rules. The $7m fine was a papercut compared to the research penalty. It remains to be seen if Red Bull can engineer a car so superior it can nullify the 10 per cent development handicap.
If it does, some would say, it is no punishment at all. Otherwise the momentum of the past two years that could have been the foundation of a new era of domination have been thrown away over a £432,652 ($509,030) overspend.
The racing gods, it appears, have tilted 2023 in favour of Mercedes as Ferrari’s key rival. But Sunday will prove whether they are any closer to taking advantage of the shifting scales and can delay the changing of the guard.
