The 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix ended in controversy and confusion as it seems no one knew for sure if Max Verstappen was world champion after the Suzuka race was cut short and the drivers failed to complete the 75th % of scheduled laps.
Several teams believed that the rules, which were changed after last year’s farce at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, with the aim of handing out fewer points in races that fail to complete their full distance, had left Verstappen one point behind. of his second title in F1.
However, the interpretation of the wording of the regulations by the FIA was strict and this caused that, at the end of the session with a checkered flag and fulfilling the maximum time limit established by the regulations, instead of stopping the clock, split all the points.
That was what caused that after the penalty of five seconds to Charles Leclerc for taking advantage off the track, which made him fall to third position, Verstappen proclaimed himself champion.
Despite the initial confusion, the teams accepted that the application of the regulations by the FIA, as written, was correct, but on the other hand they assured that this was never the intention of some rules that had been revised to avoid situations like that in particular.
Alpine sporting director Alan Permane , who has worked with other teams and the FIA to amend those rules for 2022, said the aim of the regulations was to ensure drivers were not awarded full points if they did not complete a minimum of laps (75% of the initially programmed laps).
Asked if he was surprised that the FIA had handed out all the points in the Japanese race, he said: “Yes, because I have to say that I have contributed, along with people, to the drafting of that regulation and we know what it was. what we wanted to achieve. But the way it was applied, it’s correct.”
The Alpine driver said that the teams had responded to last year’s bizarre Spa race just to make sure that the points were distributed in relation to the length of the races.
“It was done after Spa because the race couldn’t be restarted and only a couple of laps had been done,” he said. “I think we may have taken that case too literally. So we may have to remedy that now.”
“What they have done is correct according to the way the regulations are written, but I am not sure that it is correct considering what was really intended.”
McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl was harsher, saying teams had to take the blame for not being clearer in drafting the regulations.
“I feel responsible for this, because we have a meeting every winter where each team has the opportunity to raise gaps that are not clear in the different regulations,” he said.
“I haven’t gone into details with the team yet, what exactly is the loophole on that one. But let’s just say that everything we did together with the FIA and F1 after Spa is only valid for races that don’t end normally. And that’s something we’ve all overlooked.”
“We are all responsible this winter to eliminate those gaps, if there are any, or the different interpretations,” concluded the Woking.
