There were so many anomalous things that happened during the short Suzuka racebut one in particular beat all the others: at the end of the race no one, winner Max Verstappen and Red Bull understood, noticed that the Dutchman had won the world champion title. The 25-year-old himself found out on live TV when, shortly after news of the penalty awarded to Charles Leclerc for cutting the chicane on the last lap that saw the Monegasque drop to third place in the finishing order, he was recalled to the Formula 1 microphone for the traditional speech of the world title winner. And despite that, his doubts about it continued until a few seconds before the podium ceremony as evidenced by the surreal dialogue that took place between him, Leclerc and an FIA man in the podium room.
Red Bull also admitted it was surprised by the fact that its Japanese GP standard-bearer won the necessary points to be mathematically sure of being world champion with four races before the end of the season. “We knew from our accounts that we still needed a point to win the title.. For Max and our team it was a surprise, a wonderful surprise“Actually, team boss Christian Horner confessed after the race.
And were also taken by surprise the other teams, starting with Ferrari and McLaren, who did not hide their concerns about the counts made by the FIA as for the classification of the riders after the Suzuka race that created a real “confusion” (as the number one team Cavallino Mattia Binotto defined).
There is however a reason why this short circuit was created in Suzuka about the title won by Verstappen: the fact that no one had noticed that the new rule introduced by the International Federation on the scores to be awarded in case of interrupted and not completed matches as per the original schedule (as in the case of the Japanese GP where, due to the long red flag suspension due to impractical track conditions, only 29 of the initially planned 53 laps were run), introduced to prevent further sham races like the one at Termas 2021, contained a “bug”.
“The way points were awarded today was not what we all had in mind“the McLaren team boss admitted Andreas Seidl. And even more specific was about this Christian Horner which revealed that in the paddock they were “everyone convinced that only if at least 75% of the race had been run (so at least 40 laps at Suzuka, ed) would they have taken all the points“.
Clearly, with the new rules, everyone believed that, having completed just over 50% of the test, the points were awarded in a reduced waya (in the specific case 19 to 1st place, 14 to 2nd, 12 to 3rd, 10 to 4th, 8 to 5th, 6 to 6th, 4 to 7th, 3 to 8th, 2 to 9 and 1 to 10) and, therefore, that at the end of the Japanese GP, even after Leclerc’s relegation to third position after the penalty, Max Verstappen still had to earn a point over Perez and the Monegasque to obtain the mathematical certainty of the title.
In fact, no one had noticed that the new rule introduced this season to ensure that an adequate number of laps must be completed to earn points in a Formula 1 Grand Prix (modified after what happened in the Spa race of the last championship) merely describes what happens to scores only if “a match is suspended and cannot be resumed“. And, consequently, that this rule does not apply in the case of the Suzuka race where the race was suspended but then resumed finishing early due to the fact that the maximum time for the race (three hours from the first start) had expired.
having a legislative gap on the specific case (never occurred before in F1 history and neglected in the new rule formulation phase) full points are awarded if the race ends on the track. Indeed, at the end of the Suzuka race, the FIA and Formula 1 men did nothing but apply the existing regulations.
However, it seems clear that since there is a regulatory gapthis rule should be revised: “When we read the rules we realize that the eventuality of occurring in Suzuka is not covered“revealed Christian Horner after the surprise title won by Max Verstappen, who later admitted that”It is a mistake that, after last year’s Spa problems, the regulations have not been properly analyzed.“.
Source: Fan Page IT
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
