Max Verstappen Becomes 2022 F1 Champion After The Japanese Grand Prix Win

Another championship was won by Max Verstappen in a contest that will undoubtedly be remembered for years in the Formula 1 world.

And once more, it required clarification of the regulations to determine the winner of a race.

After Carlos Sainz crashed on the first lap, the Formula 1 (F1) Japanese Grand Prix was stopped after the first two laps due to poor weather. The rain had been falling for 90 minutes before the start of the race.

The circuit was ready for racing after a two-hour wait, but it was obvious that the race would not last the full 53 laps because there were just 45 minutes left in the race timeframe. After the Belgian Grand Prix fiasco of the previous year, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) created several new structures, which confused how and in what way points would be given.

Verstappen took control of the race after 28 of the 53 scheduled laps, or 52% of the total distance, were completed. He crossed the finish line after the three-hour mark expecting fewer points would be awarded. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari coming in second place, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, led to the widespread assumption that Verstappen would have to wait until the following race, which was set for Austin, Texas, on October 23, to win the championship.

Even after the race was completed, there was still a lack of clarity over the scoring system, with fans all across the paddock anticipating lower points to be given out.

Due to a five-second time penalty for cutting the chicane on the last lap after locking up, Lecrec was dropped to third place, behind Perez.

Verstappen needed more points to win the championship with limited points, but with entire points, it was suddenly enough.

Why Did We Award Full Points?

According to Formula 1 regulations, the reduced points system is only used if a race that has been suspended does not resume. When the race resumed, all points were given out as they would have been today. Almost everyone in the paddock had missed it because it was a minor rule in the rules.

Verstappen received the proper notification that he was the winner, which caused a somewhat postponed celebration.

Verstappen is perplexed but accepts the title

Verstappen admitted that he was unaware of how the points would be allocated throughout the race. Although winning was the primary goal, as soon as I passed the finish line, I thought “That race was fantastic—good points once more, but no world champion yet.”

Then, when I was conducting my post-race interview, I heard my mechanics cheering. I wondered what was going on. I noticed that Checo (Perez) came in second instead of Charles. But since you’re reading through the criteria, it wasn’t clear to me whether it was in whole, half, or 75% points.

When Tom Wood, the FIA media delegate, told me I was the world champion, all of a sudden, people started arguing I still needed a point.

So, it was a little strange. But eventually, we got enough points to win the title once more.

“It’s a mistake that it wasn’t added after the Spa troubles. We had made the firm assumption that just 75% of the points would be awarded, and they haven’t been cleaned up. Therefore, we thought that we would only fall short by one point “Christian Horner, CEO of Red Bull, acknowledged.

Verstappen’s dominant performance in challenging conditions at Suzuka, where he pulled 27 seconds ahead of the field in just 23 laps of green flag action, earned him the championship in any case.

After a few challenging races to begin the season, Horner gushed, “Max has been brilliant this year. The way the team recovered, he has controlled this championship, and tonight he was utterly dominant.” “I mean, Checo finished second today, which was wonderful as well. And it’s a significant point for the constructors as well. To overtake Charles by 25 seconds in just 20 or so laps was indeed an amazing feat. I’m happy with the outcome and think Max is a champion who truly deserves to win.”

Results

Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 28 laps
2. Sergio Perez, Red Bull, +27.066 seconds
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +31.763
4. Esteban Ocon, Alpine, +39.685
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, +40.326
6. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, +46.358
7. Fernando Alonso, Alpine, +46.369
8. George Russell, Mercedes, +47.661
9. Nicholas Latifi, Williams, +1:10.143
10. Lando Norris, McLaren, +1:10.782
11. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, +1:12.877
12. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, +1:13.904
13. Yuki Tsunoda, AphlaTauri, +1:15.599
14. Kevin Magnussen, Haas, +1:26.016
15. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, +1:26.496
16. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo, +1:27.043
17. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, +1:28.091
18. Mick Schumacher, Haas, +1:32.523
19. Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari, DNF
20. Alex Albon, Williams, DNF 

Formula 1 Points Standings

Drivers

1. Max Verstappen 366
2. Sergio Perez 263
3. Charles Leclerc 252
4. George Russell 207
5. Carlos Sainz 202
6. Lewis Hamilton 180
7. Lando Norris 101
8. Esteban Ocon 78
9. Fernando Alonso 65
10. Valtteri Bottas 46
11. Sebastian Vettel 32
12. Daniel Ricciardo 29
13. Pierre Gasly 23
14. Kevin Magnussen 22
15. Lance Stroll 13
16. Mick Schumacher 12
17. Yuki Tsunoda 11
18. Zhou Guanyu 6
19. Alex Albon 4
20. Nicholas Latifi 2
21. Nyck de Vries 2
22. Nico Hulkenberg 0

Constructors

1. Red Bull 619
2. Ferrari 454
3. Mercedes 387
4. Alpine 143
5. McLaren 130
6. Alfa Romeo 52
7. Aston Martin 45
8. Haas 34
9. AlphaTauri 34
10. Williams 8

Source: Yahoo

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