Photo: Honda
Max Verstappen won the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix and in the process scored his second consecutive Formula 1 World Championship title, joining legends the like of Jim Clark, Alberto Ascari, and Fernando Alonso.
But in true F1 fashion, nobody was quite sure whether the young Dutchman would be crowned champion until several minutes after the race had completed, leading to awkward exchanges and lack of fanfare. You really shouldn’t expect these situations from the world’s most expensive motorsport, yet they manage to happen quite often. From a spectator point of view, it can be like reality TV that’s so bad it’s funny.
Pit Stop: Where to get the best service for your car
Because of a red flag period during the race, the grand prix had been sufficiently shortened that virtually everyone believed only half points would be awarded, including Verstappen’s own team. As it turned out, the rules are confusing enough that everyone was wrong. Full points were awarded. So when Verstappen passed the checkered flag, there was none of the usual excitement and fanfare surrounding the culmination of an F1 championship.
Additionally, when the race ended, Charles Leclerc finished second ahead of Sergio Perez, keeping him — just barely — in mathematical contention for the championship (assuming half points, that is). It seemed Verstappen would have to wait until the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, to secure the title. But a five-second penalty doled out shortly after the race knocked Leclerc down a spot and took him out of championship contention anyway.
Photo: Honda
In the post-race interviews, Verstappen was assured he was not champion. It was only later, after the Leclerc penalty and as he chatted with his fellow podium winners in the cooldown room — including Leclerc — that he was informed of being champion after all. Instead of celebrating, he shrugged it off, confused as to whether it was actually true.
After some insistence that yes, he had in fact won this amazing thing that most people can only dream of achieving, he was invited to enter a special “Reserved For World Champion” room in which a gaudy, throne-like red sofa, adorned in white furs, awaited his championship-winning buttocks, clothed in sweat- and rain-soaked fireproof overalls as they were.
That’s it. There was nothing else in this room but a single plant in the corner and a massive, wall-size display upon which a screensaver-like animation once more affirmed that yes, he was champion. After sitting alone in the room for a long few seconds and observing the aforementioned plant while the TV cameras fixed upon him, Verstappen declared, “I feel a bit lonely,” and promptly walked out. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the pinnacle of motorsports, a business that rakes in billions of dollars every year, celebrated its latest winner.
Photo: Honda
With Verstappen crowned champion at the Japanese Grand Prix, I couldn’t help but feel it was such a shame that Honda bowed out of the sport last year. Though they are still powering the Red Bull cars under the guise of Red Bull Powertrains, it would have been so fitting to see the large Honda script on Verstappen’s rear wing as he crossed the line to take the championship at the manufacturer’s home race, especially given the hard road they took to get there.
Because of COVID, Honda didn’t get to race in Japan during its best years, and before that, it was being embarrassed by Alonso’s infamous “GP2 engine” comments. And as Red Bull is likely to continue winning races next year with Honda engines, it will continue to be a shame not to see them represented on the car. That said, there’s a chance they’ll come back eventually.
Photo: Honda
Though Verstappen is champion, there remain four regular and one sprint race in the championship that we can expect to be very hard-fought. Red Bull Racing has not yet secured the constructors’ title, and there are many heated battles still to be resolved between drivers and teams.
A resurgent Aston Martin Racing has passed both AlphaTauri and Haas F1 and is now on the cusp of overtaking Alfa Romeo Racing in the standings. Alpine and McLaren are neck and neck, and while Ferrari is still technically in range of catching up to Red Bull, it will likely be more concerned with keeping Mercedes at bay.
On the driver end, the battle for second place is still incredibly tight, with Leclerc and Perez separated by just one point — and following the Japanese Grand Prix, they have now exchanged places in the championship five times this year. George Russell and Carlos Sainz are only five points abreast, and though Lewis Hamilton is at a modest deficit to them, a few good performances in the final rounds could close the gap.
In the midfield and below, it’s all quite close, and any unusual race could completely upend the orders, so you can count on teams and drivers doing everything they can to maximize their chances at bringing in some points. Verstappen might be champion, but there’s good reason to stay tuned to the rest of the season.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.
