Sebastian Vettel retirement
Sebastian Vettel was voted as the Driver of the Day after a commendable sixth place finish in the Japanese GP
Fans have voted Sebastian Vettel the ‘Driver of the Day after he finished sixth in a rain-curtailed Japanese GP. It was a top six finish for the German after a long time and he certainly bid farewell to Suzuka in style. The Aston Martin driver, who has won the Japanese GP four times in the past certainly knows the track very well. Vettel showed his class amidst inclement weather to register a commendable sixth-place finish.
Vettel got 16.3% votes from fans in his favour ahead of Esteban Ocon (14.5%) and Max Verstappen (13.2%). The four-time world champion loves Suzuka and the Japanese fans love him and it is indeed a sweet farewell. Apart from Vettel, Ocon and Verstappen, Nicholas Latifi with 9.7% votes and Lewis Hamilton with 7.3% complete the top five of the Driver of the Day standings.
Although Vettel was voted as the ‘Driver of the Day, all the spotlight is currently on Max Verstappen, who is now a two-time World champion. Verstappen dominantly won the rain-curtailed Japanese GP and was given full points as the race resumed after a red flag. After stewards handed Charles Leclerc a five-second penalty, Verstappen was officially crowned as the 2022 F1 World Champion.
Leclerc initially finished second ahead of Perez but the Ferrari driver was given a five-second penalty after the race. As a result, the dramatic points swing means that Verstappen now heads to the United States Grand Prix and the final four races of the season, with an unassailable lead over Perez and Leclerc – confirming him as champion. Verstappen has now joined an exclusive club comprising Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher among others as the very few drivers to be crowned back to back world champions.
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