Max Verstappen Seals Second F1 World Championship in Controversial 2022 Japanese Grand Prix Thriller

When a prodigious 17-year-old Max Verstappen first graced the Suzuka pit lane in a Formula 1 car back in 2014, keen observers of junior motorsport already sensed the dawn of a remarkable career. Fast forward to 2022, and that very same track bore witness to a historic moment, nearly 3,000 days after his debut, as Verstappen clinched his second world drivers’ championship title. However, the events that unfolded at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix were anything but straightforward, a bewildering mix of complexity, confusion, and genuine concern, ultimately leading to an unexpected and somewhat muted coronation for the Dutch superstar.

The Suzuka Storm: A Chaotic Start to a Title Decider

The stage was set for a potential championship decider. Max Verstappen, for the fifth time that season, had secured pole position, his Red Bull machine a testament to his dominance. Alongside him, the only driver who had consistently challenged his supremacy, Charles Leclerc, prepared his Ferrari for battle. Overnight, heavy rain had swept over Suzuka, showing no signs of relenting as race day progressed. The pre-race paddock buzz quickly shifted from ‘will it rain?’ to ‘will it ever stop?’, as teams scurried to prepare their cars amidst the deluge.

As torrents of rain formed significant puddles across the iconic Suzuka circuit, Verstappen, Leclerc, and 17 other competitors cautiously navigated their intermediate-shod cars during the formation lap, bracing for a rare standing start on a truly drenched track. Only Pierre Gasly, relegated to a pit lane start, watched from the sidelines, an early sign of the drama to come.

When the starting lights extinguished, both Verstappen and Leclerc launched from their grid slots in near-perfect synchronicity. The entire field behind them vanished into a wall of spray, a terrifying visual for the drivers. In a moment that eerily mirrored the season’s unfolding narrative, Leclerc gained the initial advantage, pulling his Ferrari’s nose ahead of Verstappen on the run down towards Turn 1. However, Verstappen, with a display of audacious skill and confidence, swept around the outside, breaking Ferrari’s early hopes and snatching the lead by the exit of the corner.

Early Incidents and Rising Concerns

As the pack surged through the challenging Esses and up the hill for the first time, visibility was virtually zero. Drivers were forced to rely on instinct and an almost preternatural awareness to navigate through the blinding spray. Fernando Alonso briefly muscled past Lewis Hamilton at the hairpin, claiming fifth, only for the Mercedes driver to swiftly reclaim the position. Their duel, however, was quickly overshadowed. As they headed back uphill towards the 200R, flashing yellow lights indicated trouble: Carlos Sainz Jnr’s Ferrari had aquaplaned spectacularly off the circuit, slamming into the barriers.

“I crashed. I crashed,” a wincing Sainz reported to his team, the sheer speed of his rivals flashing past in the spray highlighting the extreme danger. “I cannot see anything.” His words underscored the precariousness of the conditions.

Just 200 metres further down the track, Alexander Albon’s race also came to an abrupt end, his FW44 suffering radiator damage from an earlier tussle with Kevin Magnussen. With two cars stranded in one of Suzuka’s most treacherous sections, the deployment of the Safety Car was inevitable. The brief respite from flat-out racing allowed drivers to voice their profound concerns over the perilous conditions.

“The visibility is too bad,” Lando Norris protested emphatically. “It’s too much water. You can’t see a thing – it’s too dangerous. You can’t even see the guy who crashed…”

The Gasly Incident: Haunting Echoes of the Past

Sainz’s impact had dislodged a large advertising board, which Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes narrowly avoided. Pierre Gasly, having started from the pit lane, had caught up to the back of the field, cautiously making his way around the opening lap. To his horror, the advertising board suddenly appeared directly in front of him as he approached the accident scene. “Oh I took a fucking thing… what the hell is that?” exclaimed a startled Gasly. “Oh my god… I got a fucking board stuck in my wing!”

Barely able to see, Gasly limped back to the pits for a new front wing and a set of full wet tyres. As he attempted to rejoin the train of cars behind the Safety Car, a second, far more disturbing surprise awaited him. Rounding the 200R corner, past Sainz’s stricken Ferrari, he was confronted by a recovery crane perilously positioned on the edge of the track, almost invisible in the abysmal conditions. Given the tragic memories triggered by such circumstances at this very circuit – the fatal accident of Jules Bianchi in 2014 – Gasly’s subsequent outburst was not just justified, but deeply understandable.

“What the- what is this tractor?” an incensed Gasly raged over his radio. “What is this tractor on track? This is unacceptable! Remember what has happened! Can’t believe this…”

The Protracted Red Flag Delay

The race was red-flagged just as Gasly reached the crane. Verstappen led the remaining cars into the pit lane, marking the beginning of one of Formula 1’s longest rain delays. Minutes stretched into hours. Yet, the thousands of dedicated Japanese fans, packed into the grandstands, waited with remarkable patience, their hopes fixed on more than just half a lap of green-flag racing after a three-year hiatus from Suzuka.

After an aborted restart attempt, the race clock relentlessly ticked towards its third and final hour, as dictated by the regulations. Finally, with a mere 55 minutes remaining on the clock, the long-awaited ten-minute warning was issued: racing would resume.

This time, Race Director Eduardo Freitas took no chances, mandating the use of full wet tyres and sending the field out behind the Safety Car. By the time the Safety Car led Verstappen out of the pit lane and onto the sodden circuit to complete what became the longest ‘lap three’ in Formula 1 history, only 48 minutes of the race remained.

Divided Opinions on Track Conditions

Drivers remained divided on the wisdom of restarting. Daniel Ricciardo felt the track was “not too bad in most places,” an sentiment shared by both Verstappen and Hamilton, who believed conditions were approaching intermediate tyre territory. However, further back in the pack, Valtteri Bottas remained unconvinced. “I can’t see anything,” the Alfa Romeo driver protested. “It needs to be red-flagged.” Despite the varied opinions, the decision was made to race.

The Race Resumes: Strategy Calls and Tire Gambles

Over two hours after the initial red flag, the cars prepared to go racing again with a rolling start. Verstappen led from Leclerc, Perez, Ocon, Hamilton, and Alonso, with George Russell trailing in seventh. As the front-runners focused on finding grip on their full wet tyres, Sebastian Vettel and Nicholas Latifi made a bold, independent call: they pitted immediately to switch to intermediate tyres, a gamble that would prove inspired.

The wisdom of the intermediate switch was immediately evident when Vettel, on his first lap out of the pits, matched the race leader’s pace. It didn’t take long for the front-runners to react; Red Bull brought Verstappen in at the end of lap seven. Leclerc, Perez, Ocon, and both Mercedes drivers followed suit, while Alonso stayed out temporarily to inherit the lead.

A lap later, Alonso also pitted for intermediates, and Verstappen effortlessly regained the lead by sweeping past Mick Schumacher, who stubbornly remained on full wet tyres, Haas hoping for another Safety Car intervention. Once back in front, the Red Bull was a comfortable three seconds ahead of Leclerc, with Perez a further five seconds adrift in third.

Verstappen was advised to manage his intermediate tyres to ensure they lasted the projected 18 laps over the remaining 32 minutes of the race. The Dutchman, ever the competitor, responded by immediately setting the fastest lap of the race, a staggering 1.5 seconds quicker than Leclerc. Once comfortable on his new tyres, Leclerc briefly matched and then even beat Verstappen’s fastest lap, but that would be the closest Ferrari would get to the dominant Red Bull for the remainder of the race.

Leclerc, feeling his intermediates already fading, pondered a second stop for fresh tyres, but Ferrari seemed hesitant, leaving him out in a diminishing chase of Verstappen. The gap widened at a rate of a second per lap, Verstappen disappearing into the distance, with Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull steadily closing in.

Further back, in seventh, Fernando Alonso found himself locked in a fierce battle with Sebastian Vettel. With under ten minutes remaining, Alpine made a late call, pulling Alonso in for a second set of intermediates. He rejoined in tenth, with just over eight minutes to make up four places and 24 seconds – a monumental task to make his aggressive strategy pay off.

Confusion at the Finish Line: The Championship Decided

By now, Perez was so close to Leclerc that he began questioning why his DRS wasn’t active, seemingly forgetting that race control rarely enables it in such wet conditions. Leclerc had to remain intensely focused, Perez filling his mirrors and applying relentless pressure, yet unable to get close enough to attempt a pass.

Ahead, Verstappen’s lead had grown to such an extent that he could casually inquire about pitting for new tyres to chase the bonus point for fastest lap. Red Bull quickly dismissed the idea, and as time almost fully expired, Verstappen crossed the line precisely as the timer hit zero.

“Final lap,” his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase alerted him. But as Verstappen exited the Esses, another update came through: “Okay Max, there seems to be some confusion over whether the race is over. We think it is, so just bring it home.” It wasn’t until he was halfway through the lap, rounding the hairpin, that Verstappen officially learned he had won the Japanese Grand Prix. “Well done, mate – you’ve won it!” team principal Christian Horner congratulated his driver on yet another victory.

Meanwhile, nearly half a minute behind, Leclerc and Perez were still engaged in their nail-biting battle for second. Under braking for the chicane for what would unexpectedly be the final time, on rapidly degrading intermediates, Leclerc ran wide and over the escape road, rejoining just ahead of the Red Bull and then aggressively squeezing Perez on the exit.

“What is he doing mate?” an exasperated Perez demanded. “He went off and he pushed me off. He went really unsafe. He should get a good penalty.”

The Points Puzzle and a Muted Coronation

Race control quickly announced that Leclerc would be investigated. While Perez backed off, believing the race was over, confusion reigned supreme at Ferrari. “And one lap to go, one lap,” Leclerc was told by engineer Xavier Marcos Padros, only to be immediately contradicted by his car’s automated system, chirpily informing him he had taken the “chequered flag.”

As drivers behind them crossed the line, a worrying proportion remained unaware that the race had ended. Many continued at unabated speed, while others who had initially slowed down were influenced by rivals blasting past, prompting them to accelerate again, just in case the finish wasn’t official. Fernando Alonso, who crossed the line side-by-side with Sebastian Vettel, required considerable persuasion before accepting that the race had indeed concluded.

Outside the podium positions, Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton concluded a similarly tense duel, with the Alpine driver securing fourth ahead of the Mercedes. Sebastian Vettel bid farewell to his cherished F1 track in impressive style, holding off Alonso in a drag race by a mere 0.011 seconds – a testament to Alonso’s aggressive strategy almost paying off. George Russell finished eighth, while Nicholas Latifi successfully converted Williams’ daring tyre gamble into his first points of the season. Lando Norris capped off a challenging weekend for McLaren by taking the final point in tenth.

With his 12th win from 18 races, Verstappen initially believed his second title would almost certainly be sealed in Austin two weeks later. However, the stewards intervened: Charles Leclerc was handed a five-second time penalty for cutting the chicane and gaining an unfair advantage over Perez. This dropped Leclerc behind Perez, suddenly improving Verstappen’s championship standing. Yet, even Red Bull believed it wouldn’t be enough, anticipating only 19 points for Verstappen due to the race not reaching 75% distance.

But then came the twist. As Verstappen encountered Leclerc in parc ferme, he was awkwardly pulled aside and informed that, according to the FIA’s interpretation of the time limit rules, full points were being awarded. With that, in an utterly anti-climactic yet undeniably historic moment, Max Verstappen was declared a two-time Formula 1 world champion.

“During the race, I had no clue what they were going to decide with the points,” Verstappen later reflected. “Of course, the main target was to win the race. But yeah, once I crossed the line, I was like, ‘okay, that was an amazing race.”

Post-Race Reactions and Future Outlook

Sergio Perez expressed satisfaction at finally overcoming Leclerc, even if it required steward intervention. “He was making it really hard, so I knew that the only way I could get him was if I push him into a mistake,” said Perez. “Towards the end, I thought there was one more lap left so when he went off, I thought that was going to be the opportunity.”

Leclerc, who had battled valiantly to keep the Red Bull behind him, ultimately missed out on second place, a reflection of his season-long bid for the championship. Ever gracious in defeat, he offered his congratulations. “Of course, a huge congratulations to Max and to Red Bull,” Leclerc said. “They’ve done an incredible job this year. Max has just been incredible and it’s a title fully deserved.”

Amidst all the controversy and confusion, Verstappen had once again emerged victorious in 2022. Fittingly, he secured his second world championship at the very circuit where he had truly introduced himself to the world stage eight years prior – a track owned by Honda, the very company instrumental in powering him to both his world titles.

“I think everyone, or most people, told us we were crazy when we started to work with them back in the day,” Verstappen said of Honda. “’Is it going to work out’, because they had a tough time at that time. But you see, never give up and full dedication to make it work, and that’s what happened.”

With two titles secured and five full seasons remaining on his Red Bull contract, the double world champion expressed unwavering confidence in his team’s ability to sustain their success. “If I have a competitive car, I’m confident that we can keep this going,” said Verstappen. “It also depends on what the competition is going to come up with. But I really believe in this group. And I really hope that in the coming years, we can enjoy a lot more wins, and potentially, of course, championships.” The 2022 Japanese Grand Prix may have ended in confusion, but for Max Verstappen, it solidified his place among Formula 1’s elite, setting the stage for what promises to be an even more illustrious career.

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