Max Verstappen won his second world championship in succession at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday — and it was a time penalty imposed on Charles Leclerc that sealed the triumph in chaotic scenes.
Verstappen dominated a shortened race affected by rain, leading home Leclerc by 26 seconds in only a 28-lap contest.
A second-placed finish for Leclerc would have kept his world championship hopes alive, but he was slapped with a five-second penalty for breaching track limits and gaining an advantage over Sergio Perez on the final chicane.
In a series of events that had Formula 1 fans struggling to keep up, Verstappen was informed of his title win by Johnny Herbert during an interview.
Verstappen was interviewed, Perez followed, and when word filtered through to Herbert that Leclerc had been penalised, Verstappen was called back for another interview and told he’d won the title.
“Max, I think things maybe have changed for you,” Herbert said.
“Come back in.
“Charles got a five-second penalty there after the little sort of race we had with Sergio.
“World champion!”
Verstappen laughed as he tried to register the shock.
“Well, what can I say!” said the Red Bull superstar.
“Incredible, of course.
“Very special also to do it here in front of all the … Japanese fans.
“Incredible.”
Herbert attempted to continue the interview but the hysterics took over, Verstappen racing to his team to celebrate as his fans went wild.
Adding to the madness that rocked the Japanese Grand Prix was confusion surrounding the allocation of points.
Sky Sports pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz revealed even Verstappen’s team was baffled, explaining Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley was hurriedly researching Formula 1 rules.
Red Bull wasn’t sure if full points should be awarded in the event of a resumed race, but the uncertainty quickly cleared.
“We thought it wasn’t going to be full points awarded, so that’s obviously what swung it,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports.
“We thought we were one point short, so we were looking at, ‘Do we pit him for the fastest lap?’.
“Wow, that’s beyond all our dreams.”
A tally of 366 points was enough for Verstappen to seize the world championship, with Perez sitting in second on 253 and Leclerc in third on 252.
The title-clinching win in Suzuka means Verstappen will head to the United States Grand Prix, and the final four races of the season, with an unassailable lead.
MORE TO COME.
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