Dutch Red Bull driver, who won the 18th leg of the season in the Formula 1 World Championship, the Japanese Grand Prix Max Verstappenbecame world champion for the second time in a row.
The race, which was held at the 5,807-meter International Suzuka Track in Mie province of Japan and started under the downpour, was stopped with a red flag in the 3rd lap.
TAKE THE FIRST PLACE FOR THE 12TH TIME
Verstappen, who completed the 28-lap fight, which started again with 45 minutes before the completion of the 3-hour time limit for the race, came to the top of the podium for the 12th time this season.
Reaching 366 points after this victory, increasing the gap to 113 points with his closest follower and teammate Sergio Perez, 25-year-old Verstappen secured his second consecutive world championship with 4 races left.
HE WRITTEN HIS NAME BETWEEN THE LEGENDS
The Dutch driver became the 11th driver to enjoy the championship in a row, after Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Aryton Senna, Alain Prost, Jack Brabham, Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Asari.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who tried to keep Red Bull driver Sergio Perez behind him in the last laps and passed the checkered flag in second place, left the second place to Mexican Perez after a 5-second penalty for going off the track at the last corner.
The 19th leg of the season, the US Grand Prix, will be run on October 23.
Following the Japanese Grand Prix, the top 5 places of the drivers’ and teams’ classification were as follows:
pilots
1. Max Verstappen (Netherlands): 366 points
2. Sergio Perez (Mexico): 253
3. Charles Leclerc (Monaco): 252
4. George Russell (Great Britain): 207
5. Carlos Sainz (Spain): 202
Teams
1. Red Bull: 619
2. Ferrari: 454
3. Mercedes: 387
4. Alpine: 143
5. McLaren: 130
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