CNN
—
Max Verstappen was crowned Formula 1 world champion in bizarre circumstances after a commanding victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
It had been a chaotic race, stalled by rain and then restarted before chaos continued afterwards and there was confusion over whether Verstappen had defended his title.
For much of the race it looked like the Red Bull driver would have to wait until the next Grand Prix in Austin to clinch the drivers’ title for a second time as the race was abandoned due to rain.
When the race started again, it was severely shortened to what appeared to be fewer points, and with Verstappen’s rival Charles Leclerc crossing the finish line in second, he looked mathematically still in the title hunt.
So when Verstappen crossed the finish line, he initially only celebrated one race win – his 12th of the season – and accordingly conducted his first post-race interview.
But Ferrari’s Leclerc, under pressure from Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, had cut the last corner and incurred a five-second time penalty after the end of the race, ending his title challenge.
“Have I or not? I hear different things,” said Verstappen after being crowned world champion for the first time in a second post-race interview.
It was reconfirmed and he sat in front of a “World Champion” banner in a throne room.
“I’m feeling a little lonely,” he said.
Even after the podium celebration on the occasion of his race victory, the Red Bull driver wasn’t quite sure of his new status as a two-time world champion, because the regulations for awarding points in the rain caused confusion.
“Am I world champion?” Verstappen asked Jensen Button before his interview on the podium.
According to the FIA, full points could be awarded instead of tiered points as racing resumed after a rain delay, giving Verstappen a 113-point lead in the World Championship with just 112 remaining on track.
Continue…