Verstappen victory enough for title after Leclerc penalty in rain-shortened race

Suzuka (Japan), October 9: Max Verstappen learned he had sealed another Formula One world title only after winning a rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday (October 9).

It had appeared Verstappen would be made to wait until Austin to confirm a second consecutive championship, as his hopes of getting the job done at Suzuka were rocked by heavy rain.

Even when Verstappen crossed the line in first place with just over half the race distance completed, title rival Charles Leclerc looked to have clung on to second to delay his title celebrations.

But Leclerc's late move to stay ahead of Sergio Perez landed him a five-second penalty, putting the Ferrari man in third and no longer within reach of Verstappen.

The victory for Verstappen moved him clear of Red Bull team-mate Perez, too, and the Dutchman was informed of his triumph only after his initial parc ferme interview.

It made for a bizarre conclusion to a long and controversial day, with initial attempts to start the race lasting mere minutes.

The safety car was out by the end of a first lap that had seen Leclerc briefly get ahead of pole-sitter Verstappen, only to trail again by Turn 1.

A series of incidents behind them in the awful conditions led to a yellow flag, and proceedings were red-flagged by the third lap.

The delay that followed lasted more than two hours, with Verstappen eventually resuming behind the safety car with only 45 minutes available in the race's three-hour window.

A sprint to the finish was without any drama for Verstappen, though, and the title was instead decided by the thrilling battle for second as Leclerc left the track and then forced Perez wide on the final lap.

JAPAN JOY AGAIN FOR DOMINANT CHAMPION

The Japanese GP may have been away for two years, but it is the race that has seen the most champions crowned, with Verstappen now the 13th driver to celebrate a title here.

Only confusion around the award of full points for a race that did not go the full distance delayed his celebrations.

Regardless, it was the first time Verstappen has won this event – his 23rd different grand prix won, second only to Lewis Hamilton (31) – and gave Red Bull a 14th victory of the season, surpassing their previous best of 13 in 2013.

DRIVER FURY AFTER TRACTOR INCIDENT

Before the title drama, much of the race delay was spent debating an incident at the moment of the red flag, when Pierre Gasly passed a recovery tractor on the track.

Gasly suggested he was put in danger by the incident, while other drivers agreed. Perez and Lando Norris each described the presence of the tractor as "unacceptable" in Twitter posts.

Both drivers also referred to the death of Jules Bianchi, who suffered the most recent fatal accident in F1 at Suzuka back in 2014, colliding with a recovery vehicle – memories of which were painfully but understandably stirred up by the scary Gasly footage.