Max Verstappen

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 has been crowned F1 world champion for the second time in his career at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Some of Verstappen’s best victories came from when he started lower down in the field. In Hungary, Verstappen started 10th, and won. One of the most remarkable stats about Verstappen’s season is that he has achieved so many wins despite starting from pole position only five times. A debris strike early in the British Grand Prix heavily compromised Verstappen’s performance. At the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, he started seventh, and won. It was thanks to his relentless consistency and purple patch of form that Verstappen was able to seal the championship so early.

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?"

By winning the Japanese Grand Prix in wet conditions in Suzuka and with title rivals Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc left in his wake, Max Verstappen was ...

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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.

Max Verstappen crossed the line first and he was then awarded the title when second-place finisher Charles Leclerc was given a five-second penalty, ...

"Carrying that number one this year, he's done it with a lot of pride," he said. I didn't know how many points I was going to get. "Was it going to be half points?

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 spoke out after Max Verstappen sealed his second world title in Formula 1.

"I think for us, we know what the problems are with this car and I believe as a team we've not gone from being world champion to not being able to build a good car. In 2022, Mercedes have been nowhere near Red Bull in terms of pace or race wins, however, as Hamilton has had to watch on while Verstappen strolls his way to becoming a double world champion. Verstappen clinched his title in emphatic style after nearly half a minute clear of Sergio Perez to win the Japanese Grand Prix and secure his second crown with his 32nd race win.

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

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...

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has officially clinched his second-consecutive Formula 1 championship after surviving a rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix.

Following some conflicting news on whether he had won the title, social media went into overdrive when Max Verstappen's championship victory was confirmed.

[pic.twitter.com/vRc1yoKHXR] [October 9, 2022] [pic.twitter.com/XyBLhCs1P5] [October 9, 2022] [pic.twitter.com/dtZZ3aO0hT] [October 9, 2022] [#JapaneseGP] [pic.twitter.com/b6Mx1bSFox] [October 9, 2022] [#JapaneseGP] [pic.twitter.com/1jXg8nJ7OV] [October 9, 2022] [pic.twitter.com/Iclw2fuud4] [October 9, 2022]