Max Verstappen, world champion after the ceremony of confusion in Suzuka

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  The panic of F1 to races in the rain

• World Cup 2022 Absolute dominance of Verstappen

He crossed the finish line with his usual smugness, culminating his twelfth victory of the year, oblivious to the dangers that had lurked for 40 minutes in the rain.

As soon as he got out of the car,

was told that he was world champion.

However, during his talk with

and

, on the way to the podium, he himself realized that the math did not add up.

Not even the penalty of five seconds to the Monegasque, for gaining an advantage in the last

, gave him the necessary advantage.

Neither Red Bull gave the job as finished nor

he felt entitled to sit on his throne.

Such a ceremony of confusion was an insurmountable embarrassment.

So

had to intervene , with the official Formula 1 microphone, to make the matter official.

Verstappen had won his second crown by a unique application of the regulations.

Nobody understood why all the points were awarded for a race in which only 28 of the 53 scheduled laps had been completed.

That is, 52% of the total, which should give the winner 19 points, instead of the usual 25.

With these chaotic figures on the table, the FIA ​​had to issue a note to shed some light.

"The rules regarding the allocation of reduced points (article 6.5) only apply in the event of a suspension of a race that cannot be resumed. Therefore, today all points are awarded and Verstappen is world champion," explained the Governing body.

Still stunned amid such chaos, perhaps not in the mood to celebrate properly, Verstappen announced that he would fly back home tonight.

A year after the strange events in Abu Dhabi, with that controversy caused by

, F1 redoubled its most difficult yet in Suzuka.

Verstappen, already a two-time champion like

,

,

,

,

and

, deserved better.

His performance in Suzuka, as throughout this World Cup that he has dominated from start to finish, was immeasurable.

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The Bianchi tragedy hangs over Sukuza.

"It is unacceptable that there is a crane on the track"

• Drafting: MIGUEL A. HERGUEDAS

"It is unacceptable that there is a crane on the track"

At the exit, where another would have been content with lucubrations,

launched himself to the boarding.

Before reaching the first corner, Leclerc had already put the length of a car on the inside.

However, the Dutchman kept full gas on the outside to get out of the jam as if nothing had happened.

Right in that sector, where

and

fought like beasts, Verstappen left an unforgettable maneuver for the memory.

It had been raining hard for hours and the situation was immediately complicated by the accident of

and the irruption of a crane on the track when

, race director, ordered the

out .

The exasperating two-hour break updated that ridiculous 2021 Belgian GP. Waiting for more precipitation, the only order was to send the medical car to examine the track.

Not even

, with more than two decades of experience in

, was allowed to go out and explore the tarmac.

Between the indignation of the drivers and the doubts of the faithful Japanese fans, after an aborted start and with the shocking memory of

in every corner of the track, the race finally resumed under the safety car.

Just like a week ago in Singapore, the tarmac conditions were drifting more towards drying quickly, so the

parade began immediately .

was the first to mount the intermediate compound, which just a couple of minutes later sent him flying into the fastest lap.

The favourites, of course, followed suit, with the exception of

,

,

and Alonso, provisional leader for two laps.

The four obviously yearned for more precipitation or the providential appearance of a

, but their prayers would not be answered.

After an excursion through the

, the Spaniard mounted the green wheels, losing position to Vettel and returning to his seventh step on the grid.

With just over a quarter of an hour to go, any achievement was at the expense of tire management.

Leclerc could well attest to this, whose snail's pace ended up exciting Pérez's appetite.

"Have you fallen asleep?" asked the Mexican on the radio.

"You're on the beat, so go for it," replied

, his track engineer.

There was less than a second there, like between

and

, who gave us a fantastic heads up.

There was no truce, no human way of managing the tires, so Alonso went a second time to renew his shoes.

What seemed like a desperate measure turned in his favor.

The brutal overtaking of

in the mythical 130R was only the beginning of his runaway race towards

.

Not even with his Mercedes could the British stop the two-time champion, who still had the strength to go for Vetttel.

That sixth place escaped by 11 thousandths.

And the fastest lap, despite the fact that he was not rewarded with the usual bonus, he lost it by one thousandth against

(1:44.411).

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