Verstappen crowned 2022 world champion after dramatic Suzuka win

Verstappen crowned 2022 world champion after dramatic Suzuka win: Analysis of the Japanese Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit

Max Verstappen was crowned world champion at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix in the most unusual fashion, after a dramatic rain affected race. At 4pm local time in Suzuka, two hours after the scheduled start, the teams were sat in the pit lane, wet and miserable, with seemingly little prospect of a race restarting, having managed just one lap at the scheduled start time before the appearance of a red flag. The rain was pouring and the prospect of a meaningful race was slim. Just an hour later, the Dutchman was crowned world champion for the second consecutive year. It was a spectacular turn of events.

Having sat through two hours of commendable broadcast filling, the FIA must have seen something on the weather radar that others couldn’t which gave them the confidence of a resumption, and the race restart procedure began. Two hours earlier, they had tried to get underway as normal, but a crash by Sainz, heavier rain and very poor visibility left the race director with little choice but to stop the race.

On resumption, the running order was broadly as per qualifying, with Verstappen up front, followed by Leclerc with Perez running in fourth after Sainz’ earlier accident. After a couple of laps behind the safety car, the rolling start began and Verstappen took off into the distance. All the teams made the early decision to go to intermediate tyres, which in most cases could be run to the end of the race. There were a few interesting battles upfront, notably between Ocon and Hamilton, but it was the fight between Perez and Leclerc which ultimately decided the fate of the world championship. There was no doubt that Verstappen would win the race as he was almost a second a lap quicker on average compared his closest rival, so the focus was mainly on the rest of the podium.

Leclerc was holding second going into the final lap despite Perez’ best efforts, but an error sent him off track and although he came back on ahead of Perez, there was no doubt the race officials would want to review the incident. At the end of the race, the Stewards did indeed conclude that Leclerc had been off the track and gained an advantage and gave him a five second time penalty. This promoted Perez to second place. Then the confusion started. The TV graphics flashed up Verstappen as world champion, but seemingly all the teams and media present thought this to be incorrect and that he was a point short. Cue a brief period of confusion as rules were checked, calculations were made and it swiftly became clear that Verstappen was indeed world champion. F1 and the FIA had got the rules spot on, it just seemed that they were the only ones who knew the rules properly.

Ultimately however, despite the unusual manner in which it materialized, this race weekend will be remembered as where Max was crowned world champion for the second time. For the Dutchman, this will feel very different compared to 2021. He has been totally dominant, driving a superior car consistently with a level of brilliance which at times made it look effortless. There can be no doubt that 2022 belongs to him and with this level of dominance, who knows how many more he can add to that list.