Japanese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen seals second world title amid confusion after win at Suzuka

Verstappen is the 17th man to become a multiple F1 world champion

Max Verstappen clinched a second title in extraordinary circumstances after dominating a Japanese Grand Prix interrupted by heavy rain.

Verstappen led Sergio Perez in a Red Bull one-two after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who crossed the line in second, was punished for cutting the track and gaining an advantage on the last lap.

There was confusion after the race as to whether Verstappen had done enough to lock in the championship, as it was not immediately clear whether full points would be awarded for a race just barely going half the distance.

However, the governing body of the FIA ​​said reduced points only apply if a suspended race cannot be restarted.

Awarding the full or three-quarters of a point – as expected by all teams – was the difference between Verstappen leaving Japan as a double world champion or having to head to the next race in the United States to gain a point on Leclerc and Perez to seal it.

Even Verstappen asked, “Are you sure?” when told he was champion, reflecting historical precedent for reduced points being awarded in such circumstances.

But it appears that protocol was inadvertently erased from the rules when they were rewritten after last winter’s controversial Belgian Grand Prix, when a result was announced despite no race taking place.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it was “a mistake” and he was “sure” the rules would be revised over the winter.

There can be no question marks over the validity of Verstappen’s championship, however, after he secured his 12th win of the season in the same way he took the championship by lifting a class above all other cars in his Red Bull.

“It’s crazy, very mixed feelings,” said Verstappen, who learned about Leclerc’s penalty and his title win during former F1 driver Johnny Herbert’s podium interviews.

“Winning the championship, what a year we had. It’s incredible!

“I am so grateful to everyone who contributed to the success, the whole team worked at full speed. In addition, the work that we do every year with Honda and that we are constantly improving becomes very emotional, especially here. I’m very proud we could do it here.

“The first is more emotional, but the second is more beautiful. We lead the designers so we want to focus on that to secure that.”

The race was marred by a controversy over officials dispatching a recovery vehicle onto the track after an accident on the first lap while the cars were still moving.

Drivers and team bosses were unanimous in calling race officials’ decision “unacceptable”, eight years after Jules Bianchi lost his life after colliding with a tractor on the track.

The race was abandoned shortly after, resulting in a two-hour delay while officials waited for the persistent rain to ease sufficiently for racing to resume.

When the time finally came, Verstappen and Leclerc initially pulled away from the rest of the field, but as the laps were ticked by Ferrari’s tire problems, they raised their heads.

Leclerc fell back from Verstappen and Perez started catching the Ferrari. Leclerc held him up for several laps and seemed to have done enough only to lock up in the final chicane and clip the corner on the final lap.

Leclerc kept Perez on the line but was believed to have gained an advantage by going off the track and was demoted.

“From lap five it was all downhill,” said Leclerc. “I was really struggling with the tires but after three four laps we just destroyed them.

“Congratulations to Max on his second championship. Max’s title this year was only a matter of time. We expected him to win the title. Now we’re just using the last few races to become a better team. “

Behind the top three, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon held off Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes throughout the race, while Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel did the same with Fernando Alonso’s Alpine.

Alonso stopped for fresh tires with just 15 minutes of racing left and dropped to ninth place, regaining enough ground to finish the race just behind Vettel but unable to overtake.

Mercedes’ George Russell climbed from 13th to eighth after being delayed for being stacked in the pits behind Hamilton as the field switched from rain to intermediate tires and the final points at Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and McLaren’s Lando Norris landed.

The cars left a cloud of spray at the start of the raceMarshalls try to clear puddles on the track after the race is stopped at the end of the first lapAfter a long delay, Verstappen leads Red Bull away at the restartVerstappen takes the checkered flag to claim back-to-back world titlesAfter initial confusion, Verstappen celebrates the second driver’s title in a row with his Red Bull team