October 09, (THEWILL) – Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka to win his second Formula One World Championship title for a consecutive time.
Verstappen did this by claiming his 12th victory of the year and it was all thanks to Charles Leclerc of Ferrari receiving a late time penalty, which made the Dutchman’s lead in the driver standings untouchable.
Full points were awarded despite the fact that only 28 of the 53 total laps of the race were actually completed, as per Article 57 of the FIA Sporting Code, which states that staggered points “only come into effect if the race is suspended…and cannot be resumed.”
Cars aquaplaned on the course due to wet conditions and poor visibility, and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari crashed into a barrier on the second lap of the race to bring out the safety car. At the start of the third lap, the session was ultimately stopped due to severe rain, and all of the drivers went back to the pit lane.
But as Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri surged past the Ferrari to rejoin the pack behind the safety car, the recovery vehicle came onto the track to clear the Ferrari, causing a commotion among the racers. The Frenchman claimed he was inches away from a severe accident when he narrowly dodged the tractor.
Verstappen breezed to the checkered flag ahead of the circuit when the race resumed winning the truncated 28-lap race but it was unclear whether full points would be granted for finishing just over half of the race distance. However, the title was his when the FIA verified all of the results and awarded full points while hitting Leclerc with a five-second time penalty for missing the final chicane on the penultimate lap.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
