Double Dutch in 2022

Posted on Oct. 9, 2022 | by Lydia Angel-Fox

---

"Max Verstappen you are a two-time World Champion..."

That was the radio message we were waiting to hear but instead Max Verstappen's second World Driver's Championship arrived in a rather anticlimactic and confusing way at the 2022 Suzuka Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen certainly had a dominate season; climbing his way back from a 40 point deficit after the first two rounds, Verstappen has claimed 12 race victories with four more races to come. Going into the weekend at Suzuka, it was no secret that Verstappen would likely walk away as World Champion. He only needed a win and fastest lap to achieve the required 112 points to separate himself and his nearest rival, Charles Leclerc. However, with a 2 hour rain delay, confusion about the points allocation, and a penalty for Leclerc, Verstappen's second victory was a bumbling and awkward moment.

No stranger to controversy, Verstappen achieved his first victory on the last lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Close in points the whole season, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen went into the last round of 2021 equally in contention for the championship. Hamilton was leading the Abu Dhabi race, but a late safety car caused by an unfortunate crash by Nicholas Latifi allowed Verstappen to close the gap on Hamilton and perform a stunning overtake on the last lap. Some fans in the F1 community were outraged by the events at Abu Dhabi, going as far as to say that Red Bull was in collaboration with the FIA and that the win was stolen from Hamilton. The controversy was so large that Race Director Michael Masi stepped down from his position the following year due to online harassment. But thats Formula 1 for you, sometimes, and more often than not, you have to expect the unexpected.

Verstappen's second World Championship bid has been relatively controversy free, however, Suzuka brought drama.

With less than one lap completed, Carlos Sainz had crashed out, Alex Albon retired with a gearbox failure, Sebastian Vettel slid into the gravel, Zhou Guaynu spun on track, and Pierre Gasly received a new front wing upgrade courtesy of the track advertising board. The race was immediately red flagged and delayed due to the rain and lack of visibility. While the drivers waited for the race to resume, footage from Gasly's onboard camera revealed that a tractor had been placed on track to collect Sainz's car before drivers were given adequate warning. The drivers were justifiably pissed considering Jules Bianchi suffered a fatal crash under wet weather conditions at Suzuka 8 years prior when he collided with a tractor.

An hour and a half later, with drivers and the F1 community reeling from what could have been another Bianchi incident, the race resumed with around 40 minutes left. Given that less than 53 laps would be completed, Sky News reported that the maximum number of points allocated to the pole sitter would be 17, with 2nd and 3rd receiving 15 and 12 respectively. This meant that unless Leclerc crashed out, Verstappen would not win the championship in Suzuka. Verstappen quickly took a 17+ second lead with Leclerc and Perez battling for 2nd and 3rd place. Leclerc remained ahead of Perez, with rapidly

degrading tires, until the final chicane where the Monegasque suffered a lockup and drove straight through the curve but retained his second place. The stewards immediately issued an investigation into Leclerc for possibly gaining an advantage.

With the race completed, Johnny Herbert began his interview with Max Verstappen, congratulating him on his race victory. News then broke that Leclerc would be handed a 5 second penalty for gaining an advantage, which put Perez in 2nd place but did not hand Verstappen the title yet.

Thirty seconds into Perez's interview, Herbert was informed that the FIA would be awarding full points for the race which meant, with Leclerc now demoted to 3rd, Max Verstappen was suddenly crowned World Driver's Champion at Suzuka after all. The screen behind Verstappen flashed with images of his title victory while the dutchman awkwardly expressed his delight about his second World Championship win.

However, confusion continued into the cool down room, with Verstappen under the impression that the FIA had miscounted the points since it was not yet clear that he would be awarded full points. Verstappen joked with Perez and Leclerc that he was not yet the champion saying, "But I'm not the champion, no? I am? Are you sure?". He was then told to sit in the plush velvet World Champions chair in a special cool down, however he quickly stood up, saying that he was lonely and went back to join Perez and a dejected looking Leclerc.

With half the world's F1 fans sitting bleary-eyed in front of their TVs, Max Verstappen took his second World Driver's Championship title with undeservedly little fanfare, amidst confusion and tense emotions. What an anti-climatic end to such a dominate season.