Max Verstappen wins second F1 championship at Japanese Grand Prix

The Red Bull driver was declared the winner of the rain-limited race amid confusion over the rules governing the award of points in the rain. The FIA, the sport’s governing body, decided full points could be awarded, rather than the partial points teams had expected, since the race resumed after a two-hour delay, although it was eventually cut. That gave Verstappen a 113-point lead with just 112 points over the last four races.

Verstappen got help securing the title when he found his rival, Charles Leclerc, cutting the last corner under pressure from Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez. Leclerc was rated a five-second penalty that landed him third.

The delay in the FIA’s decision left Verstappen, who won his twelfth race of the season, initially believing the championship should wait until next weekend’s race in Austin. “Obviously, the championship didn’t come that way this time,” he said, According to the Associated Press,Sorry to the crowd about the public discourse system.

His skepticism persisted even as his crew rushed to hug him, as the drivers thought only partial points would be awarded for the race. He later said, “Once I crossed the line, I thought, ‘It was a great race, good points again, but I’m not a world champion yet.

Verstappen started from pole in torrential rain, but the race was soon suspended due to the crash of Carlos Sainz Ferrari’s car. The cars were driving behind the safety car before the recovery vehicle was launched onto the track. Drivers wondered why the recovery vehicle went off with the track so slippery The FIA ​​said it would investigate Subject. Two hours later, the race resumed but only 28 of the 53 laps were completed, with Verstappen leading all the way.

However, Verstappen was one of the last to realize he had won the title, repeatedly asking despite being crowned, ‘Did I or did I not? [wrapped up the title]? During another post-race interview, According to CNN. “I hear different things.”

With confirmation, he sat in front of the ‘World Champion’ banner, crowning his second championship as a dominant season that saw a transformation in the sport. With one more win, the 25-year-old Dutchman would equal the one-season record set by Michael Schumacher in 2004 and matched by Sebastian Vettel in 2013.

Last December, Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton in the championship in more chaotic and controversial circumstances, denying Hamilton his record eighth title by overtaking on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. during that 2021 final seasonRace Director Michael Massey’s decisions After a late safety car run, it was intended to restart the race with one lap left, but he partially ignored FIA regulations in making it. This enabled Verstappen to overtake Hamilton on the last lap of the race, prompting confusion and sharpness from Hamilton’s Mercedes team and many observers.

An FIA investigation later determined that “human error” was a factor in the controversial finish, but found that both the race results and Verstappen’s first championship were “correct”. Massey left the FIA last summer.

“It’s crazy, very mixed feelings,” Verstappen said During an interview on the podium on Sunday. “Winning the championship, what a year it has been. It’s incredible! I am so grateful to everyone who contributed to the success, the whole team has been working so hard. Besides, the work we do with Honda every year, which is constantly improving. “It gets very emotional especially here. I’m very proud that we were able to do that here.”

“the first [championship] More emotional but the second most beautiful.”