In the most cutting-edge of sports, the thousands who braved the Suzuka rain and the millions watching on TV were treated to amateur hour in the denouement of the drivers’ title.
After 12 wins from 18 races, Max Verstappen was a thoroughly deserving world champion. The only problem was no one, apart from a few within the FIA, was aware of that fact.
Verstappen was in the dark, his peers, any of the teams, even the man with the microphone, ex-Formula One driver Johnny Herbert, doing the post-race interviews.
Instead, Herbert had to be called back after finishing his questioning of Verstappen after being informed that, in contrast to the teams’ beliefs, full points were to be awarded, despite only 28 of the 53 laps being completed.
A newly-revised rule stipulated that a sliding scale of points would be awarded only if a “race cannot be resumed”. In Japan, racing did resume — after a two-hour delay — and when Charles Leclerc was docked five seconds for a track infringement and dropped to third, Verstappen was crowned champion.
There was an irony that the person who had rewritten these laws, Michael Masi, was no longer in post to explain it all, having been removed amid another FIA public relations disaster. The confusion had echoes of the farcical end to last season, for which Masi was also responsible. This time, it did not change the course of the title race.
The FIA have far from covered themselves in glory. Last Wednesday, they were supposed to tell all on the teams’ cost caps for last season and whether any of them had been in breach. That reveal was put back to until today. And they have found themselves embroiled in more minor spats, such as the legalities of Lewis Hamilton being allowed to wear a nose stud behind the wheel of his Mercedes.
Verstappen had every right to feel aggrieved after being denied his moment of glory behind the wheel
Much more serious was the tractor being on track shortly after Carlos Sainz’s accident, a recovery vehicle Pierre Gasly flew past at full speed. On a circuit which had seen the Jules Bianchi tragedy play out in 2014, Gasly said he could have suffered a similar fate if even slightly off line.
Rather than apologising, the FIA’s response was to slap the Frenchman with a time penalty. They did at least say they would investigate how the vehicle made its way onto the circuit.
As for Verstappen, he had every right to feel aggrieved after being denied his moment of glory behind the wheel after another stunning drive.
But, rather than criticise, he said: “I don’t mind that it was a little bit confusing. I actually find it quite funny. The plan was to win the race but, once I cross the line, I was thinking, ‘That was an amazing race, good points again but not world champion yet’.
“Then I was doing my interview and suddenly my mechanics started to cheer and I was like, ‘What is going on?’ It was a bit weird.”
Weird, wacky racing, but far from the pinnacle of motorsport that F1 is supposed to be.
