Max Verstappen wins second world title after confusing finale in rain-hit Suzuka GP
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Updated 09/10/2022 at 17:57 GMT
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won a second world title after a rain-hit and bizarre Japanese Grand Prix – with conflicting reports at the finish as to whether he had actually won the championship. Charles Leclerc was handed a five-second penalty to lose his second place, while full points were awarded despite the whole race not being completed to add to the drama.
'We have been close to perfect' - Verstappen on second F1 world title
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won a rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in awful conditions to take his 12th victory of the season and secure his second Formula 1 World Championship courtesy of a late time penalty handed to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc which saw the Dutchman’s lead in the driver's standings become unassailable.
Although only a total of 28 laps were completed out of the full race distance of 53 laps, full points were awarded in accordance with Article 57 of the FIA Sporting regulations, which state that staggered points “only come into effect if the race is suspended…and cannot be resumed.”
Going into the Grand Prix, Verstappen needed to win the race, and hope that Leclerc - his nearest challenger - finished third or lower.
The race began in treacherous conditions and Verstappen maintained of the Grand Prix from his pole position start into Turn 2 ahead of Leclerc as the field all began on intermediate tyres.
The standing water on the track and poor visibility led to cars aquaplaning and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz spun into the barrier to trigger a safety car on the second lap of the race. The session was eventually red flagged at the beginning of the third lap and all the drivers returned to the pit lane as the heavy rain continued to fall.
However, there was uproar amongst the drivers as the recovery vehicle came onto the track to clear the Ferrari just as AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly sped past it at high speed to rejoin the pack behind the safety car. The Frenchman narrowly avoided the tractor, claiming he was close to having a serious accident.
After a delay of two hours, the race got back underway behind the safety car at 4:15pm local time, leaving around 56 minutes of running for the drivers to get through before the chequered flag came out.
With just under 40 minutes of track time remaining, full racing conditions finally came into effect with a rolling start.
Verstappen drove beautifully, and pulled out a huge gap of over 26 seconds to Leclerc behind him as the timer ticked over to zero after 30 minutes of hard racing. Perez, who was right on the tail of Leclerc's Ferrari going into the last lap, tried everything to get past to no avail as they were separated by just a couple of tenths as they crossed the line.
Initially, when Verstappen took the chequered flag to win the shortened 28-lap race, he was not mathematically world champion due the confusion as to whether full points would be awarded for completing just over half of the race distance.
That all changed when full points were confirmed by the FIA, and along with Leclerc’s five-second penalty - which was handed out to him for cutting the final chicane on the last lap.
DRIVER OF THE DAY - Sebastian Vettel
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Sebastian Vettel in Suzuka im Kies
Image credit: Imago
In his final race at his favourite circuit on the calendar, the Aston Martin driver made a strategy gamble work as he made up a total of ten places to finish a highly commendable P6, and bring home eight crucial points for the team.
The German had a nightmare at the initial race start, as he was forced into the gravel after a spin following a tag by Alonso's Alpine. This meant that before the second restart, he was all the way down in P16.
Aston Martin opted to pit him for a set of intermediate tyres shortly after the safety car came in, and the gamble worked.
WHERE THE RACE WAS WON AND LOST
35 MINUTES REMAINING - Verstappen pits from the lead! Red Bull double stack and Perez also switches. Leclerc also comes in. All of the pack apart from Alonso, Ricciardo, Schumacher and Zhou have come in for inters.
33 MINUTES REMAINING - Verstappen is back out in front, after Alonso boxed for a set of intermediates and he also overtook Schumacher. The gap to Leclerc behind him is already at five seconds.
24 MINUTES REMAINING - Out in front, Verstappen has pulled out a seven second gap to Leclerc behind him in P2. The Ferrari is struggling with its front tyres as Leclerc is lapping two seconds a lap slower than Verstappen ahead of him.
EIGHT MINUTES REMAINING - Perez, who is in P3, is now around a second behind Leclerc. Will the Red Bull be able to continue to close the gap? Meanwhile, Alonso pits for a fresh set of intermediate tyres from P7, and comes back out in P10, behind Lando Norris.
TWO MINUTES REMAINING - There is two minutes plus an extra lap to go! Verstappen looks all set to take the victory here in Suzuka as he is around 24 seconds ahead of Leclerc, who is in P2. The Ferrari continues to struggle and Perez is still right behind him in third, trying to look for an overtaking opportunity.
LAP 28 - Max Verstappen wins a rain-delayed race here! He takes the victory by a barnstorming 26 seconds over Charles Leclerc, who just about hangs on to second place ahead of Sergio Perez despite the Red Bull almost getting alongside him down the main straight! Leclerc was forced to take the run off area and cut the final chicane, and as a result his P2 is taken away from him as he is awared a five second time penalty!
OVERTAKE OF THE DAY
22 MINUTES REMAINING - Meanwhile, Russell makes a brilliant move on Tsunoda for P10 around the outside into the 'esses' at the start of the lap. Brilliant overtake by the Mercedes.
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