‘Never in doubt’: F1 Twitter goes off the rails as Max Verstappen becomes a double WORLD CHAMPION
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Max Verstappen (IMAGO / PanoramiC)
People had been anticipating Max Verstappen sealing the championship in Suzuka. All he had to do was outscore Charles Leclerc by 8 points. Well, there is some confusion over that. It was announced in the broadcast that he’s world champion, but people are not particularly sure what happened there.
As the race resumed, full points will be awarded. So, Max Verstappen is the world champion, though perhaps not in the manner he would like. But he and Red Bull would certainly be happy about sealing the title in Japan, as it is the home race of their engine partner, Honda. The race started as scheduled, but was red-flagged soon, after Carlos Sainz crashed, and a crane were present on track.
The Dutchman certainly deserved to win the race, and the championship as well. He pulled more than a 25-second gap in front of Charles Leclerc, which means he could have pit and still stayed in the lead. Leclerc was running second, but he locked up going into the last chicane, and then got a penalty for an unsafe re-entry, which gave Sergio Perez second place, and Max Verstappen the world championship.
Max Verstappen was puzzled: “I’m world champion or not?”
It’s been coming. Everybody knew it was just a matter of time before Max Verstappen wrapped up the title, and he has been able to do so in Japan. This was his 12th win of the season, and there may still be more to come. He’s just 2 wins away from breaking the record, and no one will rule that out.
The championship has not been sealed with 4 races to go since 2021, when it was Sebastian Vettel, who also won his second title for Red Bull in Japan. The fans are ecstatic, but it did indeed come as quite a bit of a surprise as there was some confusion regarding the rules. The commentators had said that 75% points will be awarded.
Even Max Verstappen was not sure if he was world champion, and he was informed of it while Sergio Perez was giving his post-race interview. This was later confirmed in the cool-down room.
It’s been an amazing year for Red Bull and Verstappen, and with this win in Japan, it is officially their winning-est year in Formula 1, surpassing 2013. The battle for P2 in the championship is still on, and Sergio Perez and the team would dearly love to seal a 1-2 soon. With how things have been going for Ferrari recently, you would not bet against the Mexican doing just that.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)