Japanese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen’s class the only certainty on ‘confusing & weird’ day for F1

It was, Max Verstappen acknowledged, a “weird, confusing and quite funny” way of winning a world championship.

“I had no clue what they were going to decide with the points,” Verstappen said.

“When I crossed the line, I was not world champion yet.” Then someone said he was. “Are you sure?” he replied. Then he was told he wasn’t. And then finally, yes, he really was.

How had one of the world’s most high-profile sports found itself in a situation where someone has to decide in the moment how many points are awarded in a race, and the conclusion reached was different from what all the teams were expecting?

According to Verstappen’s team principal at Red Bull, Christian Horner, the answer was “a mistake” made in the redrafting of the regulations following another controversy over another race hit by bad weather, last year’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Back in Spa in 2021, the controversy was over the fact that a result was declared, and points awarded, despite no racing laps taking place because of torrential rain.

The intention was to re-write the rules to ensure that points could not be awarded unless there had been a genuine race, even if it was short.

Historically, it has always been the case in F1 that a shortened race would mean reduced points. Typically, 75% race distance was the mark at which full points were awarded.

But one four-word clause has changed all that.

In the rules governing a race suspension, a table is laid out detailing a set of points awarded in a series of scenarios. And in this table, between 50-75% race distance means three-quarter points.

But the clause in question starts by saying: “If a race is suspended, and cannot be resumed…” So the table, the FIA said on Sunday, only applies in the event a race is not restarted.

The problem that emerged in Japan is that nowhere in the rules does it lay out what happens to the points if the race is resumed – as happened at Suzuka, when a heavy crash on the first lap led to a two-hour stoppage and then a shorter race that ran to just over half the original distance.

With nothing in the rules specifying what to do, the FIA decided to award full points – against what the teams understood was the intention, and contrary to all historical precedent.

And that was the difference between Verstappen becoming champion already, or having to go to US Grand Prix on 21-23 October still needing to gain a point over team-mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, whose error at the final chicane and subsequent five-second penalty and three points lost was enough to secure the title for Verstappen once the points situation had been clarified.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said: “We were confused ourselves; we did not think full points would be awarded.”

Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said: “It was a surprise because our statisticians said we needed one more point.” – bbc.com