Racing | Formula 1 | 2022 Japanese Grand Prix — Verstappen Secures His Second Title at Suzuka

Rain turned the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix into a shortened but decisive championship race at Suzuka. Max Verstappen started from pole for Oracle Red Bull Racing, only 0.010 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Carlos Sainz third and Sergio Pérez fourth on the grid.

The race began at 14:00 local time on 9 October, but worsening spray and standing water brought a red flag after the opening laps. When racing resumed behind the safety car, Verstappen controlled the restart and built a commanding lead as the field completed 28 laps, covering 162.296 kilometres before the three-hour limit ended the contest.

Verstappen’s official winning time was 3:01:44.004. He finished 27.066 seconds ahead of Pérez, while Leclerc was classified third at 31.763 seconds after the decisive post-race adjustment. Zhou Guanyu set the fastest lap, 1:44.411 on lap 20, but received no bonus point because he finished outside the top ten.

Leclerc crossed the line ahead of Pérez after defending through the final chicane, but the stewards ruled that he had left the track and gained a lasting advantage. A five-second penalty and one penalty point moved him behind Pérez in the final classification. Pierre Gasly also received a drive-through penalty, converted after the race to 20 seconds, for speeding under red-flag conditions; neither sanction altered Verstappen’s victory.

Because the suspended race had resumed and finished on track, the regulations then in force awarded full points despite only 53 percent of the scheduled distance being completed. Leclerc’s demotion therefore made Verstappen mathematically unreachable with four rounds remaining, securing the Dutch driver’s second consecutive Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship at age 25.

The event used Suzuka International Racing Course’s 5.807-kilometre, 18-corner Grand Prix layout. Its figure-eight geometry, crossover, sector divisions and single DRS zone are shown in the accompanying period course diagram. This pin marks Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, the exact venue of the race and championship decision.

Sources: [Formula 1 final classification](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2022/races/1134/japan/race-result), [Formula 1 starting grid](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2022/races/1134/japan/starting-grid), [Formula 1 race report](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/verstappen-crowned-world-champion-with-japanese-gp-victory-after-late.7g1xgGHHew3f2If32u8U1z), [FIA final classification hosted by Suzuka Circuit](https://www.suzukacircuit.jp/result_s/2022/f1/1009_f1_f.pdf), [FIA stewards’ decision on Leclerc](https://cdn.p300.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-Japanese-Grand-Prix-Offence-Car-16-Leaving-the-track-and-gaining-an-advantage.pdf), [Suzuka Circuit course guide](https://www.suzukacircuit.jp/eng/course_s/), and [Autosport analysis](https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/10-things-we-learned-at-the-2022-japanese-grand-prix/10382739/).

Image: “2022 F1 CourseLayout Japan,” own work by ごひょううべこ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2022_F1_CourseLayout_Japan.svg). The uploaded PNG is the Commons 1280-pixel raster preview flattened onto a black background so the original white labels remain legible; the diagram itself is otherwise unchanged.