Formula 1 2022 Japanese Grand Prix results

The red flag delays for heavy rain meant we only got 28 laps of racing action at Suzuka before the three-hour time limit expired, with Verstappen crossing the line first.
It was only in parc ferme he found out he was champion when the FIA handed Charles Leclerc a post-race penalty ? yet most thought the points gap was still not big enough.
But thanks to a quirk in F1?s regulations that ...

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After some delay, the FIA announced on Monday afternoon that Red Bull had breached F1's financial regulations with a "minor overspend" of the $145m dollar 2021 cost cap, while Aston Martin and Williams were deemed to be in procedural breach of the rules.
Following the announcement, Red Bull expressed its "surprise and disappointment" at the FIA's verdict.
"We note the findings by the FIA of ...

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But rather than this being the end of a process that has already been under the spotlight for a while, what happens next is potentially more intriguing as the governing body moves towards potential punishments.
The matter looks almost certain to be drawn out though, with F1?s Financial Regulations explicit in the formal process that needs to be gone through.
Plus, the procedural breaches ...

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Following intense speculation since the Singapore Grand Prix that two squads had been found to have spent more than the circa $145 million limit in 2021, motor racing's governing body formally published its findings on Monday.
In a statement, it said that all teams had been issued their compliance certificates apart from Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin Racing and Williams.
The Williams breach ...

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Max Verstappen clinched what had long been expected with his win at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix: this year's drivers' title crown. It makes him a double world champion at 25 and now he's close to breaking Formula 1's record for most wins in a single season, with four events still left to run.
But Verstappen's title celebrations were overshadowed by the chaos and confusion during and after the ...

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Alonso was catching fast after a late stop for a fresh set of intermediate tyres gave him a significant pace advantage over rivals, allowing him to regain the places he had lost with the stop.
Vettel was the next in line and, on the final lap, Alonso dived down the inside into the right-handed first part of the chicane. As he bounced off the kerb Vettel held his ground on the outside and held ...

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Verstappen clinched the 2022 F1 drivers? championship with victory in Sunday?s Japanese Grand Prix, gaining the required points advantage after Charles Leclerc?s five-second time penalty dropped the Ferrari driver to third.
The early title win with four races remaining is a stark contrast to Verstappen?s maiden championship win last year, which was only secured on the last lap of the ...

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The safety car was called out after Carlos Sainz lost control and crashed on the first lap, and the crane ? and at least one marshal ? were on the circuit when the safety car led the field through the next time round, prior to a red flag before the end of that lap.
The presence of the tractor only became apparent to the world at large after Pierre Gasly, who pitted for a new nose and was ...

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With the Suzuka race having been red flagged early on due to deteriorating conditions, and the event not resuming until there was just under 40 minutes of the three-hour maximum time limit remaining, it was never going to run to full distance.
But while teams had a rough idea of how long it would play out for, they were caught on the hop about the exact lap it would finish on.
Under F1?s ...

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The Japanese Grand Prix ended in confusion over whether or not Max Verstappen had done enough to win the world championship after the Suzuka race was only able to run just past half distance.
A number of teams had been under the impression that regulations that changed after last year's farce at the Belgian Grand Prix to award fewer points for shorter races would come into play ? leaving ...

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Drivers were furious to see recovery vehicles out on track, especially in wet conditions as visibility is poor, and they want to ensure that it never happens again.
The crane was sent onto the track straight after Carlos Sainz?s first lap crash, and it was on the racing line when the field passed by under safety car conditions on the next lap, prior to the red flag.
The presence of the ...

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After a series of delays teams will discover on Monday whether or not they have been granted a certificate of compliance that confirms that they performed within the cap in 2021.
If they don?t then further investigation and penalties will follow.
Over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend rival teams suggested that Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin had breached the cap, although both have ...

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Verstappen?s title was confirmed when Ferrari?s Charles Leclerc was penalized five seconds soon after the race concluded, which dropped him from second place to third.
Who is leading the 2022 F1 World Championship Drivers' points?
Red Bull Racing?s two-time champion Verstappen scored 25 points at Suzuka, compared to Leclerc?s 15 rather than 18. That meant Verstappen?s lead in the ...

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In the wake of Carlos Sainz's opening lap crash on the run out of the hairpin, marshals sent a recovery truck onto the circuit to help retrieve the stranded Ferrari.
With memories still fresh of the incident at the 2014 Japanese GP, where Jules Bianchi suffered injuries he would later succumb to after hitting a similar crane, there was widespread unease in the paddock about what happened.
A ...

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Verstappen clinched his second F1 crown in bizarre circumstances on Sunday, only learning that he was world champion during his parc ferme interview.
This came after the FIA handed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc a five-second time penalty for gaining an advantage off track in his last-lap battle with Sergio Perez.
By dropping Leclerc from second to third, it meant Verstappen made a 10-point gain ...

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The immediate aftermath of the race in Suzuka descended into farce amid confusion over whether or not a penalty for Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had been enough to secure Verstappen the crown.
Many teams, including Red Bull itself, shared the wide-held view that new rules introduced after last year's shambolic Belgian Grand Prix meant Verstappen would not be given full points for his win, as the ...

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Gasly, who was given a 20-second penalty post-race for speeding under a red flag during the tractor on-track incident, says it was an unnecessary risk to have the vehicle recovering Carlos Sainz?s crashed Ferrari while the rest of the Formula 1 field was on track.
Gasly hit advertising board debris from the Sainz crash and had to pit for a new front wing, which put him off the back of the ...

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Gasly was summoned for a post-race hearing at Suzuka for allegedly reaching a speed over 250km/h under the red flag that was shown on lap two due to heavy rain and some on-track incidents.
Gasly was left fuming that a recovery vehicle was allowed to be on the circuit while drivers were out in the wet conditions, saying after the race: ?If I would have lost it and hit a 12-tonne crane, I would ...

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Max Verstappen clinched his second F1 drivers' championship in bizarre fashion on Sunday in the Japanese Grand Prix, only finding out in parc ferme after the stewards handed Leclerc a time penalty for gaining an unfair advantage in his fight with Sergio Perez on the last lap.
Leclerc ran deep under braking into the Casio Triangle on the final lap, using the run-off area to negotiate the corner ...

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With the Suzuka event not getting near to full distance because of bad weather, many believed that the Dutchman would not be awarded the points he needed to put the title beyond the reaches of nearest rivals Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.
As a result of the washout at last year's Belgian Grand Prix, the FIA had made a big deal about a revised points structure that only awarded a certain ...

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Verstappen just held his lead from pole position at the start in wet conditions, which quickly worsened and led to Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) to crashing heavily. The race was red flagged on Lap 3, which led to a lengthy delay as the heavy rain continued.
As conditions improved slightly, the race was restarted with 40 minutes remaining on the event clock, with Verstappen holding sway again and ...

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The Red Bull driver dominated a time-limited and controversial event at Suzuka to win by close to half a minute, but not scoring the bonus point for the fastest lap looked to leave him one point short of the title.
However, a post-race 5s penalty for runner-up Leclerc - adjudged to have squeezed Sergio Perez excessively out of the last corner - dropped the Ferrari racer behind the Mexican to ...

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Having started from the pitlane, Gasly collected a piece of advertising hoarding that flew off a barrier when Sainz crashed on the first lap, and was forced to pit for a new nose.
A red flag then came out, and Gasly ? running on his own ? was shocked when he passed close to a tractor that had ventured out on track.
The incident was not shown on TV at the time, but a video of it quickly ...

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The race at Suzuka was suspended after just two laps due to heavy rain, which resulted in a number of incidents on the opening lap.
A crash for Carlos Sainz at Turn 12 initially prompted a safety car before the red flag was thrown, with all cars returning to the pit lane.
But before the field returned to the pits while circulating behind the safety car, a recovery vehicle was already ...

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Race control threw a red flag after just two laps at Suzuka on Sunday due to heavy rain that led to a couple of incidents on the opening lap, including a crash for Carlos Sainz exiting the hairpin.
Gasly was the last driver to return to the pitlane under the red flag, but was seen getting animated with team member in the garage after getting out of his car.
Onboard footage from the ...

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Rain had been forecast for Sunday throughout the weekend, and started falling around an hour before the start of the race at 2pm local time in Japan.
Conditions stabilised so that drivers were able to take a regular standing start, all starting on the intermediate tyres, but the high amount of spray meant that visibility was limited.
The opening lap saw Carlos Sainz crashed out of the race ...

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Verstappen revealed on Saturday that he had met de Vries for dinner after the latter?s impressive F1 debut with Williams in the Italian Grand Prix and encouraged him to get in touch with Red Bull's Helmut Marko.
At the time de Vries was being linked with both Williams and Alpine, and indeed he had already arranged a test at Budapest with the French outfit?s 2021 car.
However ...

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen will start the race from pole position after beating Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc by just 0.010s in Saturday's qualifying.
Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz will line up in third place and will be joined on the second row of the grid by the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
The best of the rest spot will go to Esteban Ocon in the Alpine.
When is the F1 Japanese Grand ...

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Rumours emerged in Singapore last week that two teams - Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin Racing - may have breached the $145 million budget cap for 2021 as the FIA prepared to issue compliance certificates on Wednesday.
Both teams stringently denied the allegations, but the FIA's decision to postpone issuing the certificates until Monday has caused the saga to rumble on across the Japanese ...

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Outgoing Williams F1 driver Latifi is making his maiden appearance at Suzuka this weekend, but hit a bit of trouble during second practice when he turned too early for the final chicane.
Thus, Latifi turned onto the portion of track that is used for the west circuit layout of Suzuka, which turns right before the Casio Triangle and connects the track to Dunlop, cutting out the grand prix ...

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De Vries had to jump into the Williams of Alex Albon at Monza from FP3 onwards after the Anglo-Thai driver was struck by appendicitis.
Despite his limited running in the FW44 he barely put a foot wrong and enjoyed a solid drive to ninth place in the race to earn points on his F1 debut.
The timing of de Vries' debut could not have been better as it was becoming clear that Colton Herta ? the ...

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Gasly was confirmed on Saturday as Fernando Alonso?s replacement at the Alpine team in 2023, after the Frenchman was released from his contract at AlphaTauri by Red Bull.
Gasly and Ocon were friends when they were youngsters, and their families were also close. However, they had a falling out and have had an uneasy relationship since they both made it to F1.
When Gasly first emerged as a ...

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Verstappen will start ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
However, Verstappen is under investigation by stewards for a near miss on his out-lap with McLaren?s Lando Norris in Q3.
UPDATE: Verstappen was ...

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Mercedes enjoyed a successful Friday at Suzuka as Russell led a 1-2 finish ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton in a wet second practice, although he warned to take the times with a pinch of salt.
With dry conditions returning for qualifying, Max Verstappen took pole for Red Bull ahead of the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, while Hamilton and Russell could only finish sixth and ...

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While Ricciardo had not been linked strongly with any of the open seats, Saturday's confirmation of Pierre Gasly at Alpine prompted Ricciardo to concede that he won't have a drive next season.
There are still two seats available, at Williams and Haas. Logan Sargeant is expected to fill the former, assuming that he secures a superlicence at the Abu Dhabi F2 finale, while Nico Hulkenberg and ...

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The Aston Martin driver advanced to Q3 for only the fifth time this season, scraping through Q2 by only three thousandths of a second ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, before going on to secure ninth on the grid for what is set to be his final grand prix start at Suzuka.
At the end of Q2, Vettel said over the team radio: "OK boys, good session. I really enjoyed it. This track is just so much better ...

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The overall spending of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited fell from ?324.9m in 2020 to ?297.4m last year, despite the calendar being extended from 17 to 22 races as the impact of COVID faded.
While many elements included in the overall total do not come under the cap, the drop in spending of ?27.4m reflects how the team had to adjust to the new era of cutting costs.
It also contributed to ...

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AlphaTauri announced on Saturday that 2019 Formula 2 champion de Vries will be joining the team for next year, replacing the Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly as Yuki Tsunoda's teammate.
De Vries made his F1 debut as a late stand-in for Alex Albon at Williams in the Italian Grand Prix last month, scoring two points with a run to ninth place.
It helped accelerate talks with AlphaTauri, which had ...

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Verstappen was under investigation from the stewards after a near-miss with Norris at 130R as both drivers came to prepare for their opening laps in the final stage of qualifying.
Norris was forced to take to the grass to avoid hitting Verstappen, who was slowing and warming his tyres when he appeared to momentarily lose control just as the McLaren went to pass.
Norris said he expected ...

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