Verstappen chases maximum dominance
MAX Verstappen says he is capable of dominating Formula One for years to come after clinching his second straight world title at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver won a dramatic, rain-shortened race in Suzuka on Sunday and claimed the championship when his nearest rival Charles Leclerc was relegated to third by a five-second penalty.
The flying Dutchman said it was a “crazy feeling” to lift the trophy for a second time – then he set his sights on ruling the sport for years to come.
“If I have a competitive car, I’m confident that we can keep this going,” said the 25-yearold, who has won 12 of 18 races this season.
“It also depends on what the competition is going to come up with. I really believe in this group and I really hope that in the coming years we can enjoy a lot more wins and potentially, of course, championships.”
Verstappen was only informed he had retained his title midway through the postrace TV interview, and even the driver himself was not sure.
Ferrari’s Leclerc crossed the line second in front of Red
Bull’s Sergio Perez, but he was hit with a penalty after squeezing Perez in the final chicane and being deemed to have gained an advantage by leaving the track.
“I made a mistake and tried to minimise it,” said Leclerc, who led the championship early in the season.
“Huge congratulations to Max and Red Bull. Max has been incredible and it’s a title fully deserved.”
The amended result gave Verstappen an unassailable 113-point lead over Perez and made him only the third driver after Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel to clinch the title with four races to spare.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished 11th at Suzuka.