The Dutchman can now secure his successful title defense on his own in Suzuka next weekend. If the 25-year-old wins the Grand Prix and also gets the fastest race lap, Ferrari competitor Charles Leclerc can do nothing even with second place and has to admit defeat mathematically in the title fight, which was actually decided a long time ago.
Verstappen could only be happy for his teammate Sergio Perez on a completely botched first weekend in Asia. The Mexican showed a flawless performance and won ahead of Leclerc and his “Scuderia” colleague Carlos Sainz. “He did very well,” said Verstappen. However, the success of the 32-year-old was only certain hours after the end of the race, as the world association was still investigating a violation of the rules. Because he left too much space for the safety car, Perez was subsequently given a five-second penalty, but he still stayed first and filled the gap that Verstappen left for once.
Perez holt Grand Prix von Singapore
The title decision in Formula 1 was adjourned on Sunday. Sergio Perez celebrated victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen finished seventh after a mixed race.
Multiple paths to the title
The season’s dominator had won five races in a row and, after eleven victories, is 104 points ahead of Leclerc and 106 ahead of Perez in the overall standings. “It would be nice for Max if he could make it clear in Japan. It would also be a fantastic day for Honda,” said Perez. Red Bull’s long-standing engine partner comes from Japan and has its home race in Suzuka.
If Verstappen is 112 points ahead of the closest pursuer after the next race, the title can no longer be taken away from him in the remaining four World Championship races. In any scenario in which he gets eight points more than Leclerc and six more than Perez in Suzuka, Verstappen becomes world champion again.
There are still a maximum of 112 points to be awarded – 25 each for the race win, one each for the fastest lap and another eight for the winner of the sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Because Verstappen is uncatchable in terms of the number of wins (eleven), he would also be world champion if there were a tie at the end of the season.
“He wanted to achieve too much”
In order for it to work with the early world title and his first success on the traditional track in Suzuka, Verstappen has to improve again. “He wanted to achieve too much,” said Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko. Verstappen chose the wrong settings at the start, then after an initial race to catch up he braked and fell back to last place. “More than fourth place would not have been possible anyway,” he said afterwards. “Seventh place is definitely not where we should be.”
Everything would have gone differently if he had clinched pole position on Saturday. But in the end he didn’t have enough fuel on board and in frustration he had to abort the last fast lap, which probably would have been enough for first place. When asked if he was happy to finally be able to leave Singapore on Monday, Verstappen replied succinctly: “It’s me.”
Formula 1 has not driven in Japan since 2019, and the Grand Prix had to be canceled twice in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic and the associated strict entry and quarantine rules. At least Verstappen can take with him to Suzuka the realization that the Red Bull is still superior, both in terms of top speeds and the overall package.