Japanese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen seals second world title amid confusion after Suzuka win
Max Verstappen cliched a second title in extraordinary circumstances after dominating a Japanese Grand Prix truncated by heavy rain.
Verstappen headed Sergio Perez in a Red Bull one-two after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who crossed the line second, was penalised for cutting the track and gaining an advantage on the last lap.
There was confusion after the race as to whether Verstappen had done enough to tie up the championship, because it was not immediately clear whether full points would be awarded for a race that ran just over half distance.
But governing body the FIA said that reduced points only applied if a suspended race could not be resumed.
when he was told he was champion, reflecting the historical precedent that reduced points are awarded in such circumstances.
Drivers and team bosses united to call the decision from race control "unacceptable", eight years after Jules Bianchi lost his life after crashing into a tractor on track
The race was stopped shortly afterwards, leading to a two-hour delay while officials waited for the persistent rain to ease sufficiently for racing to resume.
Leclerc held Perez off to the line, but was deemed to have gained an advantage by going off track and was demoted back behind.
Behind them, Alpine's Esteban Ocon held off Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes for the entire race, with Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel doing the same to Fernando Alonso's Alpine.
