Max Verstappen wins 2022 Formula One, adds the second straight title to his name

Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen has won his second straight Formula One title with a win on Sunday at the rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix, capping a dominant season. Verstappen concluded the race in Suzuka in Japan, with a time of 3:01:44.004.

Verstappen sealed the season victory after a late penalty assessed to Charles Leclerc, which cost him points and gave him no chance to catch Verstappen in the coming weeks.

There are still four races remaining in the season, which include the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on 23rd October. With this win, Verstappen has scribbled his name permanently in the history of Formula One after the legendary Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. Both these two legendary drivers won championships with four races remaining in the season. Schumacher won 2001 and 2004 season titles with four races remaining in those seasons. Vettel too won the 2011 season title in a similar manner.

Speaking about his win, Verstappen said that it was not a very easy race for him as the heavy rain made driving really tough. "I'm just very happy that we got to race at the end. It was raining quite heavily and it was just really tough for us to drive," he further said. Verstappen also added, "But luckily, we got quite an amount of laps in and the car was flying in the inter conditions as well. I'm very pleased to win here, but also very happy to see all the fans and that they stuck around."

This win was the 12th of the season for Max Verstappen, the 25-year-old Formula One racing driver from the Netherlands. Interestingly, with four races still remaining, he still has time to break the season wins record of 13, held by Schumacher and Vettel.