Verstappen wins second F1 Drivers' Championship

Max Verstappen successfully navigated a dramatic and event filled Japanese Grand Prix held on Sunday morning to clinch his second Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship after leading Red Bull to a 1-2 finish at the Suzuka Circuit.

The 25 year old Dutch driver crossed the line first and was then awarded the title when second-placed finisher Charles Leclerc was given a five-second penalty, dropping him to third behind Perez.

In their ruling, the governing body stated that the race, which witnessed a long suspension due to an early red flag and a delayed start afterwards, had fully resumed consequently giving Verstappen the full compliment of points which put his 366 points at the top of the table unsurmountable in the driver standings.

"The first one is more emotional. The second one is more beautiful considering how we have worked as a team all year. So give it up to all the members who played a part in this victory," said the now duble champion.

Prior to the race, Verstappen needed teammate Perez to beat Ferrari's Leclerc to second position, which was the permutation that would allow him to wrap up the title in Japan without the fastest lap point.

However, with that particular scenario playing out on the circuit after Leclerc’s late penalty ensured Perez beat him to second and Zhou Guanyu setting the fastest lap, there was confusion with Verstappen unsure as to whether he had won the Championship since the race completed less than 75 percent distance needed to award the full points.

However, it was clarified the regulations state that reduced points are given out if there is a red flag and the race cannot be resumed.

While there was a red flag during the race, the race did resume for 45 minutes at the end, so full points were given making Verstappen just the third driver to wrap up a championship with four races still to run.

The race was overshadowed by earlier events.

After initially starting in heavy rain, Carlos Sainz spun out on the opening lap of the race, prompting a Safety Car.

The race was soon red-flagged but there was controversy as a recovery vehicle was on the track while cars were still going around.

Pierre Gasly was driving at full-speed when he passed it, as he was trying to catch up with the pack again and was unaware a crane was on the race track, sparking criticism of the FIA's handling of the incident.

Away from the podium, brilliant defensive driving Esteban Ocon frustrated Lewis Hamilton as the Alpine driver held onto fourth ahead of the seven time Mercedes driver.

Sebastian Vettel collected some valuable points in sixth place after benefitting from an early decision to pit for the intermediaries when the rest of the pack stayed on wets after a rolling start to the race.

Fernando Alonso, who was on a late charge after taking a second pit stop managed to overtake Nicholas Latifi and George Russell with his fresher tyres for a seventh place finish ahead.

Russell took eighth, Latifi ninth with Lando Norris closing the top 10.