Suzuka was a thrilling Sunday from all points of view. After the red flag and the long wait for the restart, the assignment of the title seemed postponed to the United States Grand Prix, because Max Verstappen was missing the point of the fastest lap to close the accounts with Charles Leclerc in second.
A few minutes after the checkered flag, however, the Ferrari driver was penalized by 5 “because at the last chicane he came long, cutting into the escape route. Even if Sergio Perez was not attacking him at that juncture, the Race Direction considered that the Monegasque took advantage of this maneuver and therefore relegated him to third place.
Judging by the reaction in the heat, even if this time the sanction came lightning-fast, without even hearing the opinions of the drivers, who were struggling with intermediate tires that were now in good shape, it does not seem to have upset Leclerc too much. Indeed, Charles seemed much more worried about the very heavy tire degradation suffered by the F1-75, which made him close more than twenty seconds behind Verstappen.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“It was really a pain with the tires in the final laps. The same thing happened in the last few races: we start very well, but then after a few laps we destroy the tires,” he told Johnny Herbert, before to congratulate the Dutchman of Red Bull: “It was a pain, but really many compliments to Max for his second World Championship. We will continue to push until the end, but it is frustrating, because today the pace was not there already after four laps “.
After all, given Verstappen’s enormous advantage, his second title was not in doubt. But the Ferrari driver has already launched them for 2023, with the intention of also taking advantage of these latest races to bring Ferrari closer to Red Bull.
“The goal is that. Max’s title this year was only a matter of time in reality. We expected it, but now we have to use these last races to improve as a team, hoping to be able to be a more concrete threat to the team. next year, “he concluded.
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