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Picture Credit: Twitter

Red Bull's Max Verstappen wins the Japanese GP and the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship  at the iconic Suzuka circuit. The rain-affected race saw long delays and left drivers with around 45 mins to gain important points. 

But from the restart, the Dutchman took the lead and held on to it through 37 laps to win the GP. Behind him were Ferrari's Charles  Leclerc and his teammate Sergio Perez.   But the Ferrari driver was penalised for cutting the chicane on the final lap as he fended away the other Red Bull car.

This created the required points difference meaning Verstappen sealed the crown.  Verstappen won the Championship despite missing out on the fastest lap of the race which was clocked by Alpha Romeo's Zhou Guanyu. 

Esteban Ocon took the fourth spot for Alpine after some incredible defending against Lewis Hamilton rounding off the top five. Sebastian Vettel recovered to finish  P6 on his final Suzuka appearance after spinning away  at the initial start. 

The German had a great clash with Fernando Alonso, who claimed the seventh. Rounding off the top 10 was George Russell in eighth, followed by a surprise Nicolas Latifi and Lando Norris. 

Reacting to winning the title, Verstappen expressed that he was going through a lot of emotions. He said, "It's crazy. Very mixed emotions.   Looking back, what a year we've had so far. "

"It's been incredible. It's something I could never have imagined. After last year, fighting until the end, and then having such a good car again this year. I'm so thankful to everyone who has been contributing to this success," he continued.

Red Bull team principal Christan Horner expressed that he was also confused about whether they had won the title. He said,  "We thought we were one point short, we didn't think full points were being awarded. "Max has been truly, truly dominant. Our 14 victory, a record for us as a team. Honestly, he, the team have just raised it to another level."