Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line in second position but was penalized a few minutes later by the FIA for gaining an advantage off the track. This ultimately offered the title to Verstappen as he was demoted to third position. You can read more about it here.
To be honest, it wasn’t an easy race and the tires were really difficult to manage. I started to destroy my tires after a few laps and I struggled on the track. Congratulations to Max Verstappen, we’ll do better next year. It’s frustrating today, but that’s how it is.
If the Ferrari driver takes a hit, he is nonetheless motivated for the end of the season in order to reclaim his position as runner-up in the World Drivers’ Championship and come back stronger in the next season.
Now the goal is to finish the season cleanly. Max’s title was only a matter of time. We expected him to get it. We need to improve our race pace and improve ourselves to offer them a bigger challenge next season.
The pivotal battle ⚔️#JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Ry9KJryxDJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9, 2022
