The Dutch driver had before him the opportunity to equal legends such as Fernando Alonso, Mika Hakkinen or Emerson Fittiapaldi at the Japanese Grand Prix, and he did not fail, although at the time of crossing the finish line he was not even aware of have finished the race. Max Verstappen continued at full speed when the full Suzuka appointment was completed, but was told that the test was over after the three-hour limit imposed by the FIA and all the controversy with the crane in the middle of the track.
The one from Red Bull did not have the title assured, since Charles Leclerc saw the checkered flag in second place, but an action with Sergio Pérez at the Casio chicane caused the stewards to endorse him a five-second penalty that sent him to the third place. However, that did not give him the two-time championship, because everyone thought that, not having completed 75% of the race, all the points would not be distributed.
Verstappen arrived at the Parc Fermé with his RB18 and, suddenly, he realized that he had harvested his second world title, since the international federation interpreted that the event had resumed and was not suspended, thus giving all the spoils to the pilots . Already as a new champion, the Dutchman offered his first words to the public, and his surprise at the news was visible.
“Well what can I say, amazing of course,” the Dutchman explained. “It’s special to do it here too, in front of all the Honda people and all the Japanese fans. Unbelievable.”
In addition to his first statements as two-time champion of the highest category of motorsports, the Red Bull driver explained the difficulties that he encountered during the test on Japanese soil, where the rain was the main protagonist.
“I’m very happy that we were able to race at the end. It was raining quite hard, and so it was difficult for us to drive at that time,” Verstappen acknowledged. “But luckily we’ve done a good number of laps and the car has also flown in the mixed conditions.”
“So [we are] very happy to win, but also very happy to see all the fans who stay here. In the end it was a bit dark, but we are very happy to have been able to race here,” said the newly crowned champion.
Verstappen managed to open a gap of 27 seconds on the second classified in Japan, although the rain came close to causing the FIA to cancel the test: “I was very happy that we had a race, because leaving here without the race would have been terrible” .
“The championship, it would have been great to win here,” he said before he knew the final resolution, although that no longer matters because he has achieved the goal he set for himself at the beginning of the season.
Do you want to read our news before anyone else and for free? Follow us here on our Telegram channel and you won’t miss a thing. All the information, at your fingertips!