Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has clinched his second Formula 1 world championship in confusing circumstances after winning a rain-shortened Japanese GP.

He added to Sky Sports F1: "It's a pretty crazy feeling, of course, because I didn't expect it when I crossed the line. 29 years, 137 days 25 years, 9 days

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a rain-impacted, red-flagged and shortened Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on Sunday to be crowned Formula 1 world champion.

In a marathon Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Sergio Perez’s victory was only assured hours after the race due to a stewards investigation. A testing return to the Singapore Grand Prix in tricky conditions created plenty of hazards and mistakes for the Formula 1 drivers to fall into. After seemingly being stuck in limbo at AlphaTauri - too good to let go, but not a realistic prospect for a Red Bull return - Pierre Gasly has finally shaken off the shackles to join Alpine.

Max Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday in dreadful conditions, but will have to wait if he is to clinch the Formula 1 championship.

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! Verstappen looks all set to take the victory here in Suzuka as he is around 24 seconds ahead of Leclerc, who is in P2. 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. 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! The Ferrari is struggling with its front tyres as Leclerc is lapping two seconds a lap slower than Verstappen ahead of him. 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.

Max Verstappen was crowned world champion for the second time in bizarre circumstances following a dominant victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

I am hearing different things,” Verstappen said, after he was initially crowned world champion during a second post-race interview. On the final corner, Leclerc eventually yielded to Perez’s pressure and locked up on the final chicane of the race, cutting the corner and picking up a five-second penalty that demoted him to third. Verstappen was among them and once out of the pits, he weaved his way through the field with ease to take the lead again, opening up a four second lead over Leclerc, who initially looked comfortable in second, eight seconds ahead of Perez. When the race restarted behind a safety car to help clear the track of water, the sky was still overcast and each car trailed a plume of spray behind it. So when Verstappen finished, he initially only celebrated a race victory – his 12th of the season – and completed his first post-race interview accordingly. For much of the race, it seemed as if the Red Bull driver would be forced to wait until the next grand prix in Austin to secure the drivers’ title for the second time in his career as the race was red-flagged due to rain.

Confusion reigned at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix over whether Max Verstappen was confirmed as 2022 World Champion or not.

The confusion surrounded the criteria under which points would be awarded. “And the championship obviously didn’t quite come your way this time around,” said Herbert when he interviewed Verstappen initially, with the 25-year-old answering by saying he was “just very happy we had a race” because the grand prix had been under threat after being red-flagged following a number of incidents following the original start. Are you sure?"

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen celebrated a 'crazy' victory at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka that gave him a second successive world championship.

“Max has been truly, truly dominant. "It's a pretty crazy feeling, of course, because I didn't expect it when I crossed the line. We thought we were one point short. "It's something I could never have imagined. After last year, fighting until the end, and then having such a good car again this year. Japanese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday in dreadful conditions, but will have to wait if he is to clinch the Formula 1 championship.

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! Verstappen looks all set to take the victory here in Suzuka as he is around 24 seconds ahead of Leclerc, who is in P2. 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. 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! The Ferrari is struggling with its front tyres as Leclerc is lapping two seconds a lap slower than Verstappen ahead of him. 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.

After a dominant victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen is now a double world champion although the Red Bull driver was forced to wait till ...

However, the Ferrari driver was later adjudged to have gained an advantage after leaving the track at the final chicane, in his defence against Sergio Perez for second place. The Monegasque was consequently given a five-second time penalty dropping him down to third after the race. After a dominant victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen is now a double world champion – although the Red Bull driver was forced to wait until after the race to get the good news...

Max Verstappen sealed his second Formula 1 world championship amid huge confusion after winning a chaotic, rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix.

"Car 10, which had collected damage and pitted behind the Safety Car, was driving at high speed to catch up to the field. But for the Japanese GP there was a different interpretation of the rules, which state that the reduced points are only applied if a race is suspended "and cannot be resumed". "What is this tractor on track?" We don't want to see ever, a crane on the track." I'm so thankful to everyone who has been contributing to this success." [Japanese GP: Final race result](https://www.skysports.com/f1/grandprix/japan/results) [Verstappen crowned champion amid F1 confusion

On Sunday, Max Verstappen's victory came after Ferrari competitor Charles Leclerc was given a five-second post-race penalty at the Japanese Grand Prix. - ...

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen triumphed in the Formula One world championship for the second time amidst the chaos. Verstappen described winning his second consecutive championship as “a crazy feeling” since he had not anticipated it when he crossed the finish line. There was immediate uncertainty on whether full points had been granted during the abbreviated race due to the rain and if the title would be decided at the US Grand Prix on October 23, however, the regulatory authority of the FIA validated the victory.

Lewis Hamilton offered brief congratulations to Max Verstappen on keeping his title – and warned Mercedes will have “a better car next year”.

“I wish it was a longer race. “In terms of conditions, just restarting, I think it was awesome. “It’s really hard to see the cars skating around. It was so tough, so hard to see. I was getting as close as I could [to Ocon]. “I think for us, we know what the problems are with this car.

I wonder how different are the levels of inner satisfaction for Max Verstappen, now that he has claimed his second world championship?

Equally, it might also be a case of Max knowing that Ferrari are more likely to drop the ball than were Mercedes in 2021, and that his advantages are sufficient that he just doesn’t need to take risks. But this time around, in what will surely be just another step in a slew of title successes to come, there can be absolutely no questioning the fundamental elegance and justice of a second title won in a manner reflective of the very best the sport has witnessed since 1950. And in that stylishness has lain the cornerstone of his title defence. However he has found the inner peace he has displayed in 2022, Max has been far more of a Mohammed Ali than a Francis Ngannou. But it also speaks to the competitiveness of his equipment in 2022. But you also saw the change in his manner out of the cockpit. As Max says, the older cars could get a little edgy when running as close, which may go some way to explaining why there has been no contact this year. He has slipped seamlessly into his new status as the pace-setter – The Man. Yes, there were a couple of uncharacteristic spins – in Spain and Hungary – but predictably he recovered almost instantly from them where a lesser man might not have, and they barely delayed him, though he won in Spain thanks to the compliance of team mate Sergio Perez. Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, things happened the other way around for Ayrton Senna, as he became the new dominator of F1. Like a man who has embraced his destiny, and been wholly comfortable realising it because, in terms of self-confidence, machinery, and other factors such as the differing levels of other drivers’ competitive packages, he found all of the planets aligning for him. But Max’s move, and the praise it drew from Red Bull boss Christian Horner, left no doubt about the intensity of their title intent and ambition.

Dutchman takes the title following rain-soaked victory – and confusion – in Japan.

On lap 18, Leclerc recorded the fastest lap (later taken by Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou) and he eventually found himself fighting off Perez for second as Verstappen crossed the line. Verstappen managed to hold the lead, but behind the leaders it was chaos: Vettel, in his final Then came the controversy: a recovery tractor was on track while Pierre Gasly was heading back to the pits – at some speed. After barely more than a single lap, the race was red flagged. He ran wide and kept just ahead of Perez as they crossed the line but was soon handed a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage. Even race winner Max Verstappen – who romped home to victory nearly half a minute clear of second-placed Charles Leclerc – was confused.

Lewis Hamilton says he has "no doubt" that Mercedes will build a better car for 2023, after congratulating Max Verstappen on sealing a second successive ...

"I wish it was a longer race. "It was a sprint race. "We were just so slow in a straight line. "Red Bull obviously did an amazing job with the car this year," Hamilton added. I have no doubts we'll build a better car next year. 'Second title more beautiful'](https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12707671/max-verstappen-crowned-2022-f1-world-champion-amid-japanese-gp-confusion-after-winning-wet-race) [Gasly, F1 drivers furious at tractor on track

The Dutch driver's Japanese Grand Prix victory, which came in a rain-marred event, was his 12th of the season.

That enabled Verstappen to pass Hamilton on the final lap of the race, inviting confusion and acrimony from Hamilton’s Mercedes team and many observers Two hours later, the race was resumed but only 28 of 53 laps were completed, with Verstappen leading all the way. With one more victory, the 25-year-old Dutch driver would tie the single-season record set by Michael Schumacher in 2004 and matched by Sebastian Vettel in 2013. “Once I crossed the line I thought: ‘It was an amazing race, good points again, but I’m not world champion yet,’” he later said. “The championship obviously did not come the way this time around,” he said, That gave Verstappen a 113-point lead with only 112 points possible over the final four races.

Max Verstappen admitted he had no idea he had taken his second Formula One world championship as confusion rather than celebration characterised his ...

“The plan was to win the race but once I crossed the line I didn’t know if it was full points, half points or 75% points because you’re reading through the rules.” “It’s been a very enjoyable year and a very special year, which will be very hard in the future to match,” he said. “When I crossed the line I didn’t believe that we would have won the title because I also didn’t know if we’re going to get full points or not,” he said.

Max Verstappen has clinched his second consecutive driver's title by winning the Japanese Grand Prix in the rain at Suzuka, a victory that signals a ...

2017 – Hamilton – Mercedes 2018 – Hamilton – Mercedes 2019 – Hamilton – Mercedes 2020 – Hamilton – Mercedes Winning two titles in a row moves Verstappen into elite company. The Dutchman started from the pole under pouring rain – which sowed chaos – only for the race to be stopped after two laps as several cars crashed.

The Dutchman, who now has back-to-back world titles to his name, is just one race win shy of tying the record of most F1 race wins in a season.

The Frenchman had pitted after the first lap and was catching up to the rest of the pack, who were behind the safety car when the crane was on track. The FIA released the following statement about the incident: “In relation to the recovery of the incident on Lap 3, the safety car had been deployed and the race neutralized. We also take into account the shock the driver experienced on seeing a truck on the racing line in the corner of the incident.” We’ve got lucky so far.” He also [said](https://twitter.com/autosport/status/1579000131025862656?s=20&t=d1si5jhI63ZlWQz5YrZUmQ) “there needs to be a full investigation into why there was a full recovery vehicle on the track.” “However, in mitigation of penalty, we take into account that although the speed could not by any measure be regarded as ‘slow’ as required in the regulations, it was slower that the maximum speed that could be achieved under these conditions. But for Nicholas Latifi and Sebastian Vettel, the decision to be the first two to pit after the race resumed had the risk of being disastrous. He was part of the decision to make the early switch to intermediates and this paid handsomely as he soon got into a potential points scoring position,” Dave Robson, Williams’s Head of Vehicle Performance, said in the team’s post-race recap. We are far away from P1 but the feeling in the car is something special when the fuel is light and the tire is fresh.” He briefly ran in the top three and managed to lead the grand prix, even if it was just a passing moment before Verstappen overtook him. It’s something I could never have imagined happening after last year already, fighting to the end and having such a good car again this year,” Verstappen said after the race. With just over 40 minutes to get racing in, the drivers emerged from the pits behind the safety car and mixed reports emerged in terms of visibility. “Of course, also we’re leading the Constructors so we really want to focus on that as well to try and secure that.

Max Verstappen was crowned the Formula One 2022 world champion after winning a dramatic rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix. Details here.

Verstappen has won 12 of 18 races in 2022 and thanked his team for an “incredible” year. Verstappen resumed with a lead over Leclerc and Perez and extended it as conditions gradually improved. I didn’t know how many points I was going to get. “The first (championship) is a little more emotional; the second one is beautiful,” he said. “Was it going to be half points? [leaving the track](https://www.augustman.com/my/gear/motoring/best-formula-1-tracks-to-visit-around-the-globe/) in a late surge for the line.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says a "mistake" was made with the rules that allowed Max Verstappen to clinch his second Formula 1 drivers' title at the ...

Just looking at the points, a shortened race giving full points is not how the new-for-2022 rule following a farcical Belgian GP last year was intended. Verstappen added: "To be honest, I don't mind that it was a little bit confusing, I find it actually quite funny. "But, yeah, once I crossed the line, I was like, 'OK, that was an amazing race. "I had no clue what they were going to decide with the points," he said. But article 6.5 of F1's sporting regulations says that reduced points only apply if a race is suspended "and cannot be resumed". "So we felt we were going to be one point short.