Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was declared Formula One world champion on Sunday after winning a dramatic rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix.
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However, due to the dramatic nature of the end in a decreased race, coupled with new factors laws, the 25-year-old initially didn’t realise he had finished sufficient to win the title.
Verstappen crossed the road first and he was then awarded the title when second-place finisher Charles Leclerc was given a five-second penalty, dropping him to third.
The consequence gave Verstappen an unassailable 113-point lead within the championship, making him solely the third driver after Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel to clinch the title with 4 races to spare.
Watch the video under as a bowled over Verstappen reacts to the information:
MAX VERSTAPPEN HAS WON 12 OF 18 RACES THIS SEASON
Ferrari’s Leclerc completed the race second in entrance of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, however he was hit with a penalty after squeezing Perez huge and leaving the observe in a late surge for the road.
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Verstappen was knowledgeable he had retained his title halfway via the post-race TV interview, and even the driving force himself was unsure if he had sealed the deal.
“It’s a crazy feeling of course as I didn’t expect it when I crossed the line,” stated a shell-shocked Verstappen.
“Was it going to be half points? I didn’t know how many points I was going to get. I was happy with the race we had.”
The race acquired off to a chaotic begin in heavy rain, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Williams’ Alex Albon exiting on the primary lap prompting a security care.
RESULTS AND CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX AT SUZUKA ON SUNDAY:
1. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 3hr 1min 44.004, 2. Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) at 27.066sec, 3. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 31.763, 4. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine) 19.685, 5. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 40.326, 6. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin) 46.358, 7. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine) 46.369, 8. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 47.661, 9. Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams) 70.143, 10. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren) 70.782, 11. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/McLaren) 72.877, 12. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin) 73.904, 13. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri) 75.559, 14. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas) 86.016, 15. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) 86.496, 16. Guanyu Zhou (CHN/Alfa Romeo) 87.043, 17. Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri) 88.091, 18. Mick Schumacher (GER/Haas) 92.523
Not categorized: Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari), Alexander Albon (THA/Williams)
Formula One standings after 18 of twenty-two races:
Drivers championship
1. Max Verstappen (NED) 366 pts (world champion), 2. Sergio Perez (MEX) 253, 3. Charles Leclerc (MON) 252, 4. George Russell (GBR) 207, 5. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) 202, 6. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 180, 7. Lando Norris (GBR) 101, 8. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 78, 9. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 65, 10. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 46, 11. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 32, 12. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 29, 13. Pierre Gasly (FRA) 23, 14. Kevin Magnussen (DEN) 22, 15. Lance Stroll (CAN) 13, 16. Mick Schumacher (GER) 12, 17. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) 11, 18. Guanyu Zhou (CHN) 6, 19. Alexander Albon (THA) 4, 20. Nicholas Latifi (CAN) 2, 21. Nyck de Vries (NED) 2
Constructors
1. Red Bull 619 pts, 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