Japanese Grand Prix | Max Verstappen crowned champion in confusion

The question was no longer who would win the championship, but rather when Max Verstappen would be crowned. It was finally in the rain, in Japan, with four more races to go in the season, that the 25-year-old driver formalized his second title in two years.

Katherine Harvey Pinard
The Press

It has been known for several weeks that the season belonged to the Red Bull driver; before heading to Suzuka this weekend he had won 11 of 17 races. To be crowned champion on Sunday, he had to win by eight points ahead of his closest pursuer, Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.

This is exactly what happened, but in very strange circumstances. First, because the race ended up only lasting 28 laps due to terrible weather conditions. Then, because Verstappen’s championship was not confirmed until several minutes after the end of the race.

The Dutchman did his post-victory F1 interview as usual before giving way to team-mate Sergio Pérez, who had taken third.

As he prepared to question the Mexican, the host invited Verstappen to come back in front of the camera. He then told him that a penalty had been awarded to Leclerc because of a maneuver executed in the last corner of the last lap, while he was trying to defend his second place.

“You are world champion,” gently concluded the host.

” Well ! What can I say ? replied, smiling, an incredulous Verstappen.

The facilitator had not finished formulating his next question that the pilot had already joined his team, overexcited.

” It’s crazy. I have very mixed emotions. What a year we’ve had so far. I could never have imagined, after last year, already fighting to the end and still having such a good car,” added the Red Bull driver a little later, at a press conference. He then paid tribute to his team, which is still in excellent shape to win the constructors’ championship.

With this victory, Verstappen enters the list of 10 drivers, now 11, with at least two titles. Lewis Hamilton (7), Fernando Alonso (2) and Sebastian Vettel (4) are the only ones still active.

Under the penalty to Leclerc, it was Pérez who took second place, followed by the Monegasque.

Long stroke

We were expecting a complicated start due to the weather, and that’s what we got. Slightly overtaken by Leclerc before the first corner, Verstappen pressed his gas pedal to bypass him from the outside and take the reins of the race.

The first lap was a lot of action, when the visibility was almost nil. Alex Albon had to give up. Carlos Sainz Jr. hydroplaned and crashed off the track. Debris from billboards got stuck in the front wing of Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri.

For all these reasons, a red flag was announced on the third lap, forcing the drivers to return to the pits. The race did not resume until two hours later, in still deplorable conditions. As a Grand Prix must end within three hours of the first start, there were only 50 minutes left at the time of the restart, which we guessed was eagerly awaited by the Japanese public dressed in ponchos.

All single-seaters returned to the track with rain tyres, which Verstappen was quick to change to intermediate ones. He then granted himself a lead of several seconds over Leclerc, who never threatened the champion. He instead found himself in a heated battle with the other Red Bull, that of Pérez, who did everything to overtake him until the last moments. It was while trying to defend himself under pressure from the Mexican that Leclerc was ultimately penalized.

Behind the leading trio, we had a great fight for fourth place between Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). The seven-time world champion tried by all means to overtake Ocon, who never flinched in order to achieve his best result of the season.

Toronto’s Nicholas Latifi also had his best performance by far. The Williams driver, used to finishing in the hold, finished in the points for the first time of the campaign thanks to a 9^e square.

Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Fernando Alonso (Alpine), George Russell (Mercedes) respectively finished 6^e7^e and 8^e. Lando Norris, at McLaren, grabbed the last point. As for the Quebecer Lance Stroll, he took the 12^e rank.

Disgruntled pilots

An incident at the very start of the race caused a lot of talk on social networks. As the red flag had just been announced, the AlphaTauri driver, Pierre Gasly, came very close to colliding with a tractor on the track.

The 26-year-old Frenchman seemed beside himself within minutes of returning to the pits. Some pilots have made their dissatisfaction known on social networks.

“How can we make it clear that we never want to see a crane on the track? Pérez wrote on Twitter. We lost Jules [Bianchi] because of this error. What happened today is totally unacceptable! ! ! I hope this is the last time I see a crane on the track! »

To the surprise of many, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) finally awarded Gasly a 20-second, two-point penalty for driving too fast during a red flag.

Bianchi died following an accident at Suzuka on October 5, 2014. During a yellow flag, the driver collided with a crane which was in the process of removing another car from the track. Bianchi had spent several months in a coma before succumbing to his injuries.