Max Verstappen did not know that he had just become Formula 1 World Champion prematurely when he was asked for the winner’s interview after the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. Because only the subsequent time penalty against Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc ensured the sufficient point advantage that Red Bull driver Verstappen needed to mathematically win the title.
In other words, he wasn’t able to celebrate the World Championship success either when he crossed the finish line or when he got out of his RB18, and he couldn’t really savor the moments of triumph at first. Looking back on ‘ServusTV’, he describes this as “perhaps a bit of a shame” because it “took a few minutes” before it was clear whether he was world champion or not.
The confusion was particularly great at Red Bull: Verstappen’s team didn’t think their driver had even reached the finish line and radioed him “last lap” into the cockpit when Verstappen had actually already waved it off. Only half a lap later, Red Bull recognized his misjudgment and informed Verstappen that he could now take his foot off the gas – as the race winner.
The reason for this irritation at the Red Bull command post: The 2022 Japanese Grand Prix did not go the full distance due to an early interruption, but ended after the maximum time of three hours, after 28 instead of the planned 53 race laps.
Verstappen left: If not Suzuka, then somewhere else
Verstappen himself, however, accepts all this calmly and, in view of the premature title win, says: “If it’s not [in Suzuka] If that had happened, it might have happened in Austin.”
“Bottom line, of course, it was also nice that we won in Japan, ahead of all the Honda people. That made it special, when we hadn’t been to Japan for two years, on this wonderful track.”
Red Bull have had a “great season” with Honda as a partner and have “a few [besondere] Moments” and “many victories,” Verstappen continued. In his view, things should go on like this in 2023. He doesn’t hope for a repeat of the world championship duel with Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes: “Hopefully we’re way ahead. That is the goal.”