The Japanese Grand Prix Ends With Crowning A Formula One World Champion And More Controversy

The popular Netflix show Drive to Survive is often criticized for creating drama in Formula One where none actually exists. In fact, 2021 World Driver’s Champion (WDC) Max Verstappen declined to participate because he feels producers are not being honest in how they portray certain rivalries. With the 2022 season, though, F1’s governing body, the FIA, seemingly said to Netflix, “Hold my beer.”

The 2022 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka is known for several things. It’s a highly popular track design and a favorite among drivers. It “must have been designed by the Gods,” according to four-time WDC Sebastian Vettel. The Japanese fans are in a class of their own in how they participate in the F1 spectacle. And given its timing on the calendar, the WDC is often won here i.e. a driver accumulates so many points as of Suzuka that it’s mathematically impossible for them to be unseated in the remaining races. A fourth thing would be its penchant for rain given the time of year, and that’s what we got for 2022.

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Following two wet practice sessions, one dry practice session, and a dry qualifying session, where Verstappen and Leclerc landed on the front row with mere thousands of a second separating the two, the race started Sunday morning in the rain. Although the rain was building at that time, every driver started on the intermediate (green stripe) tires because they offer a pace advantage over the full wet (blue stripe) tires. No one wants to be on a slower tire, even if it’s the safer tire.

The start was actually quite exciting and largely clean. Leclerc had a better response from P2 on the inside, but Verstappen quickly recovered and fully sent it around the outside of turn one to reclaim P1 by the exit. It was a brilliant bit of driving. Vettel made contact with Alonso and spun before turn one. He quickly recovered, and all others got away clean. Until about half-way through the lap when Carlos Sainz hydroplaned, spun and then hit the barriers at a high rate of speed. He bounced off a wall of Rolex banners and came to a rest partially on track. From his onboard cameras, we could see how fast and close drivers were going by him. Judging from the amount of spray we were seeing, it was obvious they couldn’t see him. This triggered a safety car and then a red flag in quick succession.

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In the midst of this, AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly, who just signed a multi-year deal with Alpine, scooped up a Rolex banner that had come onto the track from Sainz’s crash. It was a bizarre sight to say the least. Naturally, he pitted under the safety car to have the banner removed, and then rejoined the race well off the back of the pack. As he was approaching Sainz’s wreck, the race was red flagged. But not before a tractor had already entered the track to recover Sainz’s Ferrari. From Gasly’s onboard cameras, we could see that (a) visibility was challenging to put it lightly and (b) by sheer luck, he narrowly missed crashing into the tractor.

In fact, the chronology of this incident from a viewer’s perspective didn’t paint a clear picture. Following the red flag, we saw that Gasly was visibly upset and shaken when he got out of the car. Was that because of the Rolex banner? We didn’t really know until the Sky Sports broadcasters all of a sudden had hours of air to fill in analyzing the start while waiting for the race to resume. During this time, we pieced together the fact that Gasly had effectively cheated death. His incident with the tractor was nearly identical to that of fellow Frenchman Jules Bianchi in 2014 when he fatally struck a recovery vehicle…at Suzuka…in the rain. Driver safety and the deployment of recovery vehicles fall under the FIA. Gasly was ultimately penalized for speeding under red flag conditions, but the issue of having recovery vehicles on track before cars are either safely in the pits or behind the safety car certainly needs to be addressed by the FIA.

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The race resumed from a rolling start behind the safety car with about 40 minutes remaining in the allotted race time. All drivers were mandated on the full wet tire, and these were certainly merited given the conditions. Unlike the first start, though, conditions were trending toward the intermediate tire. Vettel and Latifi were first to pit for inters followed by the rest of the field (save for Schumacher) within the next five minutes. It then appeared to be a sprint to the finish.

Verstappen and Leclerc initially built a gap to Perez in third. And then there was a gap to Ocon and Hamilton, who were battling for fourth. The Mercedes double stack cost time for Russell, who found himself behind Tsunoda, Norris and Latifi. He quickly made up these positions with superb overtakes through turn six to get himself into the points and chasing Alonso for seventh.

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Overall, this was an exciting 40 minutes of F1 racing. Ocon defended Hamilton to the finish to secure fourth place, which is Alpine’s best result of the season. Without the benefit of DRS, the Mercedes looks like it’s dragging a parachute on the straights. Everyone save for Verstappen seemed to struggle on their tires toward the end. Alpine made the bold call to pit Alonso with eight minutes left. He had to cede position to Russell only to gain it back in the final laps with far superior pace. He then challenged Vettel for sixth at the finish line, losing out by a mere 75 centimeters. In both cases, though, Alpine bested the Mercedes on track and surged ahead of McLaren in the constructor’s championship. Vettel’s early call to pit for inters paid off in the final Japanese Grand Prix (P6) of his incredible F1 career.

Max Verstappen was in a class of his own at Suzuka, as he’s been all season. He won by 27 seconds in what ended up being a 29-lap race. What!? And to give credit where it’s due, the Red Bull car is a masterpiece. Leclerc’s inters were nearly worn to slicks, whereas Verstappen’s looked evenly worn if not fresh. This is also why Perez was able to close a 10-second gap to Leclerc and challenge for second place during the final laps. Indeed, as they approached the final chicane, Leclerc’s tires finally gave up. He went straight on and cut the chicane. It was pretty clear he gained an advantage by going off track and would have to either give up the place (which he didn’t) or get a penalty (which he did).

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Which brings us to the end of the race and the 2022 World Driver’s Championship. Throughout the race, commentators had speculated about how points would be awarded given the shortened race distance (29 of 53). What percentage would it be? Would that give Verstappen enough to secure the WDC? Meanwhile, race control was showing full points on the timing graphics. We knew that if Leclerc finished second and Verstappen didn’t get the extra point for fastest lap, it would go to Austin. But what if points were reduced? There was a lot of math happening in real time.

Alas, the way the new rules are written (by Michael Masi, incidentally), full points are awarded whenever a race restarts and then finishes under a checkered flag. Regardless of how many laps are raced. The points percentages only apply when a race is red flagged and does not restart, as happened in Belgium 2021. All of this was well known by the FIA, but it wasn’t being communicated (or corrected) to those announcing the race. Or to the teams, evidently, who literally had to consult the FIA rulebook after the race had finished.

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The incident between Leclerc and Perez was quickly adjudicated by the FIA, as they should be (but were not in Singapore), which gave Leclerc a five-second penalty and subsequent demotion to third place. Ipso facto, Max Verstappen is the 2022 Formula One World Driver’s Champion. He was informed of this in real time during the post-race interview, though he still had doubts going into the cooldown room. The camera operator had to be the one to finally confirm for Max that yes, in fact, he’s now a double world champion.

All of which made for an anti-climactic finale for this year’s driver’s championship. There was no victory lap with fireworks and waves to the adoring fans. There were no burnouts or donuts. There was no championship-affirming sound bite from the announcers that will get played for decades to come. Instead, there was Max Verstappen confirming with a camera operator, “Really? For sure? I won?” And then going to sit on a red, overstuffed chair/throne in a room by himself, only to quickly realize it was both lonely and not that cool. Yes, the FIA could have gotten ahead of all this by informing Sky Sports and the teams that full points will be awarded and if Leclerc finishes below second, Verstappen wins the WDC.

That said, I think many would have preferred the driver’s championship at least went to Austin. Because that’s where I’ll be in a couple weeks to see the United States Grand Prix in person. Of course, the constructor’s championship is still in play, and Red Bull could secure that in the US.

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