Chapter 1284 - 483: The Final Battle (6K, Second Leave of 4)
Meanwhile, after a sprint race and the main race, the driver standings are as follows:
1: Qin Miao. 391
2: Verstappen. 357
3: Leclerc. 262
4: Perez. 251
5: Hamilton. 237
6: Sainz. 134
7: Norris. 93
8: O’Kang. 80
9: Alonso. 51
10: Bottas. 41
11: Vettel. 28
12: Zhou Guanyu. 26
13: Ricardo. 26
14: Gasly. 21
15: Magelsen. 20
16: Tsunoda. 9
17: Stroll. 8
18: Mick. 6
19: Albon. 1
20: Russell. 1
21: De Vries. 1
After the race, the point gap between Qin Miao and Verstappen has reached 34 points, which is a score that Verstappen cannot surpass or tie in the next race, effectively concluding the 2022 World Championship one race early.
Moreover, the nearly 100-point gap between Verstappen and Leclerc has secured Verstappen the second position of the year, and although there is still some distance from Qin Miao’s world championship, Verstappen has shown significant progress compared to the 2021 season.
At least from being third in the world in 2021, he has moved up to second this year.
After this race, the team standings are as follows:
1: Mercedes: 628
2: Red Bull: 608
3: Ferrari: 396
4: Alpine: 131
5: McLaren: 119
6: Alfa Romeo: 67
7: Aston Martin: 36
8: Toro Rosso: 30
9: Haas: 26
10: Williams: 3
Although the Brazilian Grand Prix decided the driver championship, it is clear that the team championship remains undecided.
From the perspective of F1 teams, winning the team championship yields more substantial and direct benefits compared to the driver championship.
For example, if the Mercedes team continues to defend the team championship this year, becoming a nine-time champion team, then the Mercedes team will receive 10% more in year-end dividends than the second-place Red Bull.
Thus, the Mercedes team’s dividend income for the year might be 20 million US Dollars more than that of the Red Bull team.
This is just the additional bonus amount over the second place. An F1 champion team can earn at least 100 million US Dollars in year-end dividends, plus sponsor bonuses for the team champion and other sponsorships that come post-victory. It can be said that merely winning the team championship guarantees at least 200 million US Dollars in revenue.
However, everyone knows that Ferrari is historically the oldest and most well-established F1 team, so Ferrari receives a special award in the year-end dividends for their long-term partnership.
Thus, even if Ferrari’s performance this season isn’t great, only ranking third in the team standings,
when factoring in the long-term partnership award (exclusive to Ferrari), the dividends Ferrari receives from F1 this year are actually higher than those of the first-place Mercedes team.
About 10 million US Dollars higher.
But of course, this is just an example. Before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ends, nobody knows if the team championship will indeed be secured by the Mercedes team, as Red Bull’s speed this season is not slow.
On the other hand, Alfa Romeo achieved sixth place in the team standings, and their two drivers deserve credit for it. However, to a certain extent, if Alfa Romeo can improve their car reliability to even half of that of the Mercedes team, Alfa Romeo might have been able to challenge for McLaren’s fifth place. A one-place climb in the rankings means an increase of at least 10 million US Dollars in dividend income.
Additionally, Alfa Romeo could better capitalize on the domestic market,
especially given that they have Zhou Guanyu, a Chinese driver, on their team.
Still, because Alfa Romeo often retires due to car failures, they also receive plenty of criticism domestically, especially since they have Mercedes as a precedent.
The Mercedes team hasn’t encountered any noticeable car failures during the main races throughout the season, making it hard for Alfa Romeo to avoid criticism.
In any case, even after finishing the Brazilian Grand Prix, the 2022 season has not come to a complete close. Everyone knows that there’s still much to look forward to in the final race of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The battle for the top team between the Mercedes and Red Bull teams, as well as the position competition between Hamilton, Perez, and Leclerc, remains fiercely contested.
After the race concluded, Qin Miao, having completed all post-race interviews and other work, really just wanted to return to his family to share the joy of winning the championship. Although this wasn’t the first time, the feeling of finally seeing rewards after a year’s hard work is something Qin Miao feels he’ll never tire of.
However, as a two-time world champion, Qin Miao knows that he can’t just clock off immediately after the race. In fact, Qin Miao’s post-race work time is now much later than usual.
For example, there’s the post-race press conference, fan meets, having to leave handprints at the FIA hall of fame, the team celebrations, group photos, and so on.
A whole slew of tasks was forcibly added to Qin Miao’s schedule the moment he won the championship, leaving no room for adjustments.
By the time Qin Miao stepped off the podium, everyone in the Mercedes team had already changed into champion-customized team uniforms, with satisfied smiles on their faces.
Mercedes is known for its generosity, being a top team that certainly does not skimp on staff salaries and benefits.