As the Suzuka race did not take place in its entirety due to the rain and the chaos at the start (Sainz’s accident included), many believed that the Dutchman would not add the points he needed to mathematically seal the title over Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez .
As a result of last year’s embarrassing Belgian Grand Prix , the FIA had gone to great lengths to overhaul the points system, which only awarded part of the total sum if races were not run in their entirety.
With the specific aim of ensuring that points were not awarded at events that did not go on to run under a green flag (as was the case at Spa 2021), the regulations also established a strict new point count if the grands prix were not completed.
For winning a race that had completed two laps but less than 25% of the grand prix distance, the winner would score six points.
For races running past 25% but not 50%, the winner would get 13 points, and for races running past 50% but not 75%, it would be 19 points. Everything that exceeded 75% meant the delivery of full points according to the usual system (that is, 25 points for the winner).
As the Japanese GP saw 28 laps – just over 52% – many had the impression that Verstappen would do 19 for victory, Pérez 14 for second place and Leclerc 12 for third place.
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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
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Photo by: Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
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Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
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Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
If so, then the final result at Suzuka, once Leclerc’s five-second penalty had been applied, would have left Verstappen within a point of the crown.
However, the wording of the regulations does not cover all occasions where races are not completed to all laps. Rather, it only refers to races that have been stopped and cannot be restarted.
Article 6.5 says at the top, before explaining the different scenarios, the following: “If a race is suspended in accordance with article 57, and cannot be resumed, the points for each title will be awarded according to the following criteria …”
But the Japanese GP did not fall into this assumption, since it was raced to the checkered flag for having reached the three-hour limit of the event.
This meant that the award of points did not depend on the final distance traveled, and therefore all the points of a normal race were distributed .
The FIA later clarified: “The rules regarding the reduced allocation of points (article 6.5) only apply in the event of suspension of the race which cannot be resumed , and therefore the full points are awarded and Max Verstappen is World Champion.”
