The championship was sealed via Leclerc’s penalty. With four races to go, a historic season wins record is in sight.
SUZUKA, Japan—Only finding out minutes after he crossed the finish line following his victory Sunday afternoon at the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen became the second driver in Formula One history to win two consecutive championships, with only Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel achieving the feat previously.
Following a delay of many minutes due to a deluge of rain following lap three, Verstappen led the race from start to finish and found out that the title was clinched when Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was pushed wide from Verstappen’s closest challenger, Charles Leclerc, who was penalized five seconds for his actions and dropped to third.
Incidents began when Vettel struck Alpine’s Fernando Alonso on the opening lap and spun around. The Aston Martin driver recovered but fell down the grid. A safety car came out when Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz aquaplaned, spun into the barriers, and became the race’s first retirement. Alex Albon became the second on the same lap as his Williams suffered a hydraulic issue. The marshals realized that the rain was increasing and decided that the best thing to do was to issue a red flag on lap three.
“It’s crazy, very mixed emotions,” said Verstappen, who was told of Leclerc’s penalty and his title victory during the podium. “Winning the championship, what a year we’ve had. It’s incredible! I’m so thankful to everyone contributing to the success; the whole team has been working flat out.”
Esteban Ocon had his best season finish, with his Alpine in fourth, while Lewis Hamilton was fifth in his Mercedes. Vettel impressed with his best finish this year in sixth, with Alonso in seventh. George Russell took eighth in the second Mercedes, and Nicholas Latifi scored his first points this season for Williams in ninth. Lando Norris gave McLaren one point by finishing in tenth place.
With four races to go, the next challenge for Verstappen is breaking the Formula One season win record. He has 12 victories in 2022, one behind joint record-holders Michael Schumacher and Sabastian Vettel. Next up is Austin, Texas, at the Circuit of the Americas, on Sunday, October 23.
