Dutch Red Bull driver Mark Verstappen became a sensational world champion by taking pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on Sunday after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was penalized, dropping him from second to third.
Leclerc fouled on the final lap when another Red Bull driver prevented Sergio Pérez from overtaking him illegally. Third or less and that’s what happened and the race was suspended on lap three due to heavy rain before it resumed after stops. over two hours.
On lap one, another Ferrari driver, Spaniard Carlos Sainz, retired after his car skidded off the track, in addition to sporadic collisions, most notably between former world champions Sebastian Vettel and Spaniard Fernando Alonso, which required safety car intervention before raising the red flag and stopping the race on the third lap.
After more than two hours, the race resumed behind the safety car, which remained on the track for three laps before releasing the stage for competitors.
Verstappen, who started from pole, kept the lead despite Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc starting well and trying unsuccessfully to overtake him.
The drivers entered the garage and race officials decided in the first stage to set a restart date for the race after being stopped for more than half an hour, but their attempt failed due to poor visibility before the race resumed after being stopped for more than two hours. watch.
After the restart of the race, the ranking of the top three remained as it had been before the stoppage, until Leclerc committed a penalty violation on the last lap, allowing Verstappen to claim the title knowing the latter had crossed the finish line. not knowing that he became world champion for the second time in a row.
Verstappen won his first title last season in the Abu Dhabi race, and under very exciting circumstances, when he won it on the last lap when he overtook Lewis Hamilton, a Mercedes driver, and stripped the last record number of titles in the race. world championship, which he shares with the German legend Michael Schumacher (7 each). who are they).
