Six talking points from a drama‑filled Japanese GP

‘Max, you are World Champion’

It was Johnny Herbert who was honoured with the task of breaking the news to Verstappen. Confusion reigned over exactly how many points were being awarded as the race just crossed the half-way threshold after a delay of two-and-a-quarter hours following the first start, which had been red flagged after just one lap of racing. Having already interviewed Verstappen on his win, Herbert called Max back as a message confirmed the stewards had penalised Leclerc. The Ferrari ace had driven well to hold off Sergio Perez for second place, thereby ensuring the championship would remain mathematically alive until the next round in Austin, only for Leclerc to make a crucial error at the chicane on the final lap. He cut the last corner of the race, blocking Perez’s run to the line and it was inevitable that a five-second penalty would come his way. That elevated Perez to second, and with the decision taken quickly Herbert became the bearer of happy tidings to the new two-time champ. But it was little wonder that he wasn’t entirely convinced as the Sky F1 pundit gave him confirmation.

Utter domination at Suzuka

If the ending was a little messy, nothing else about Verstappen’s performance could be described as such. At the first start, Leclerc got a better launch, but in streaming conditions Verstappen kept to the wide line through Turns 1 and 2 to brilliantly sweep into the lead before a crash for Carlos Sainz Jr. stopped proceedings. For a long while we wondered whether the Japanese GP would ever restart as the rain set in, before eventually it eased enough for it to be judged safe to race. As the clock was ticking down, just under 40 minutes were left as Verstappen led from the safety car restart.

The field resumed racing on full wets, but it soon became clear intermediate Pirellis were the thing to have. Some such as Mick Schumacher held off from the inevitable in the hope a safety car interlude might do them a favour, but when it didn’t come the order cycled itself through the stops with Verstappen still leading Leclerc – and the Red Bull was pulling away. That his margin of victory over the promoted Perez was 27 seconds over such a short period of actual racing said everything about Verstappen’s form, not only at Suzuka but for most of this year. He and Red Bull have been untouchable in 2022, as the 25-year-old takes his place beside Alberto Ascari, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi, Fernando Alonso and Mika Häkkinen as a two-time F1 king.

Ocon’s great defence against Hamilton

In contrast to Leclerc’s last-corner faux pas, Esteban Ocon kept his cool and delivered a perfect example of defensive driving as he held of Lewis Hamilton to score the Frenchman’s best result of the season in fourth. Hamilton was dogged in attack, drawing up bravely on the outside of his rival on the run to the super-quick 130R left-hander, but his Mercedes just didn’t have the grunt he required to pass – and without the use of DRS in wet conditions, the seven-time champion remained frustrated. Great battle though.

Vettel says sayonara with sixth

Bouncing off Fernando Alonso into a spin at Turn One at the first start seemed to suggest Sebastian Vettel’s emotion at racing at Suzuka for the last time would be tinged with a big dollop of frustration. How he then rallied to finish a fine sixth was a more befitting sign-off from a circuit that remains the favourite for most F1 drivers. What surely made it sweeter was how he rose up the order thanks to an early stop for inters, narrowly avoiding an unsafe pit release penalty against Nicholas Latifi’s Williams, then fended off old rival Alonso once the order settled down. Like Hamilton against Ocon, Alonso just didn’t quite have enough, the pair finishing in a thrilling side-by-side dash for the line.

Aston Martin still lags behind Alfa Romeo-Sauber in the duel to be F1’s sixth-best team, but Vettel’s hard-earned points means it has closed to within seven with four races remaining.

Wily Alonso gives Alpine a vital double score

As Alonso realised Vettel would remain out of reach, he came under pressure from a charging George Russell in the second Mercedes. Russell had already pulled the best moves of the race against the likes of Yuki Tsunoda and Lando Norris, so Alpine gambled on pulling Alonso in for fresh intermediates rather than fighting a battle he was likely to lose. It worked a treat. Having dropped to 10^th, Alonso used his fresh rubber to charge back up, the Spaniard passing Russell for seventh on the last lap and only just failing to pip Vettel.

Added to Ocon’s fourth place, the result pushes Alpine back up to fourth in the constructors’ standings, a week after losing the place to McLaren in Singapore. This time the orange cars were only just able to trouble the scorers, Lando Norris managing a solitary point for 10^th behind the impressive Latifi, with Daniel Ricciardo 11^th. Alpine now leads McLaren by 13 points as the countdown to Abu Dhabi continues.

Safety controversy branded “unacceptable”

Our final talking point this week is an alarming one. Eight years on from the crash that claimed the life of Jules Bianchi, at this very circuit, F1 drivers were once again dumbfounded to find themselves driving past a snatch vehicle as they struggled for grip in treacherous conditions after the first start. There was chaos on that first lap, with Sainz losing his Ferrari and backing it into a tyre barrier. Hamilton and Alonso were lucky to miss the Ferrari as they passed and then Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri collected an advertising hoarding that had come loose in the accident. A safety car had inevitably been called before sensibly the race was stopped – but not before the snatch vehicle had been released to collect the stricken Ferrari. Although the drivers were backing off from racing speeds, they were still rightly furious to find themselves sharing the track with a tractor – especially given how Bianchi had been lost, crashing his Marussia into just such a vehicle with horrific consequences in 2014. The word on everyone’s lips was “unacceptable” and a full investigation into how such a scenario was allowed to play out must follow. Quite simply, it shouldn’t have happened.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.