Verstappen wins Formula 1 title ahead of schedule

MOSCOW, Oct 9The Dutch pilot «Red Bull» Max Verstappen ahead of schedule became the champion of «Formula 1». On Sunday, he won the Japanese Grand Prix and became out of reach in the overall standings for second Monegasque Charles Leclerc from Ferrari. Leclerc finished second in the race, but received a five-second penalty and fell back to third, securing the championship for Verstappen. The second in the race as a result was the Mexican Sergio Perez from Red Bull. Also in the top 10 at the end of the Grand Prix were: 4. Esteban Ocon, Alpin; 5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes; 6. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin; 7. Fernando Alonso, Alpin; 8. George Russell, «Mercedes»; 9. Nicholas Latifi, Williams; 10. Lando Norris, McLaren. The race was suspended on the third lap due to increased rain and resumed two hours later, Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Thai Alexander Albon (Williams) retired on the first lap. Due to the pause, the pilots drove 28 out of the planned 53 laps, the race ended according to the allotted time, in which case it is not considered shortened and full points are awarded for it. Because of this clause of the regulations, many did not immediately announce the championship of Verstappen, this happened only after clarifications from the International Automobile Federation (FIA). In the event of an early completion of the race, the riders would have received a reduced number of points, which would not have allowed the Dutchman to win the title. Based on the results of 18 stages out of 22, Verstappen scored 366 points. Perez scored 253 points, he was ahead of Leclerc in the overall standings and became the second, the Monegasque with 252 points is in third place. Next up: 4. George Russell, Mercedes (207), 5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (202), 6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (180), 7. Lando Norris, McLaren (101) , 8. Esteban Ocon, Alpin (78), 9. Fernando Alonso, Alpin (65), 10. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo (46). The Constructors' Championship is led by Red Bull (619), the top five also includes Ferrari (454), Mercedes (387), Alpin (143) and McLaren (130). Verstappen is 25 years old, he for the second time he became the world champion, he won his first title at the end of last season. In the current championship, Verstappen has climbed the podium 14 times, scoring 12 victories.