Max Verstappen won his second Formula 1 world title in a strange way at the 2022 Japanese GP, and only found out that he had been champion when he arrived at the parc fermé , since the stewards imposed a penalty on Charles Leclerc for taking advantage by going off the track when defending against Sergio Pérez on the last lap.
The Monegasque over-braked at the Casio Triangle chicane, using the runaway to stay ahead of Checo, prompting the FIA to punish him to finish third. In this way, the Mexican rose to second place, despite having crossed the finish line from behind, and awarded the two-time championship to his Dutch rival, since the federation awarded all the points according to the modification of the regulations.
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto said he was very “shocked and disappointed” by the ruling, noting that it took a long time for the governing body to decide on Perez’s penalty at the last Singapore GP when he left more than ten lengths behind the safety car.
“Seven days after Singapore, where it took so many laps to decide and after the race we had to listen to the drivers to make a simple decision, today they made it in a few seconds,” said the Swiss. “I am amazed how they have made it so different from Singapore, after only a few days.”
“Was the decision to put a five-second penalty correct or not? From our point of view, honestly, he did not gain an advantage, he was ahead, he stayed there, with the same difference, but that is how they have decided and we will accept”, Binotto continued.
The director of the Prancing Horse said that the time difference in the FIA’s decisions was “frustrating to see” in just one week, especially since Leclerc was not given the opportunity to speak in Japan before the resolution. : “If you go to the decision, of course, the five seconds in Singapore should have been imposed immediately.”
“It would have given us the option to handle the situation differently, and it could have been a potential win, so we’re frustrated and disappointed about that too,” he said.
The stewards noted in their report that although Leclerc did not win the position, he was considered to have “gained a lasting advantage”.
“That determination takes into account numerous briefings in which race directors advised that an ‘advantage’ would be considered to have been gained if you left the track and turned in the same position while defending,” the stewards explained. citing the precedents of Guanyu Zhou in Saudi Arabia or Fernando Alonso in Miami.
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