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The Japanese Grand Prix might have only produced a 28-lap grand prix but it featured no shortage of major talking points.
From Pierre Gasly’s frightening close call with a recovery vehicle under the red flag, to the parc ferme confusion over whether Max Verstappen had sealed the 2022 F1 title with four races to spare, there were enough considerations and storylines to fill several grands prix.
Our writers give their verdict on controversial and confusing Japanese GP:
Farce overshadowed Verstappen’s triumph
Scott Mitchell-Malm
On what should be Max Verstappen’s day of days, F1 looked farcical at times.
The truck incident under the safety car was inexcusable. Pierre Gasly should have been driving slower. That’s a separate issue. If he was doing 2mph or 200mph he shouldn’t come across a recovery vehicle in those conditions.
Given this is the same place we lost Jules Bianchi it’s a ridiculous risk to have taken. Just because that’s usually OK to do doesn’t mean it’s universally done and I don’t understand how it was allowed in such awful conditions – especially in the very place Sainz had just aquaplaned and crashed!
And as for how Verstappen was crowned champion, it feels like we all somehow missed something that seems obvious when you’re aware of it. The fact Verstappen and various teams had no idea that full points would be awarded shows that the rules are not clear enough and nobody imagined that would be possible.
It turned the crowning moment of the season into a confusing farce.
F1 wasn’t fit for Suzuka in the rain
Matt Beer
From a ‘clock’ rule that cancels out a reduced points rule, to wet tyres that have to be used in certain situations but aren’t really good enough to be used, to the fundamental issue of recovery vehicles on track in heavy spray being a bad idea, F1 just didn’t seem prepared for Suzuka rain today.
The time windows and revised points allocations for shorter races are both great ideas. They shouldn’t contradict each other in a way that means a driver could get six points for winning a race stopped for good on lap six or 25 for winning it if it was stopped after lap three but restarted for three more laps.
At least this was realised straight after the chequered flag, and not when someone re-read the rules mid-week and discovered the Japanese GP had actually been worth full points despite everyone’s (totally logical) assumptions to the contrary.
F1 can’t afford to keep taking risks like this
Glenn Freeman
The fuss around full points being awarded and Verstappen being crowned world champion is inconsequential. Max was always going to win the title at some point. It’s perhaps a shame for him and Red Bull that they didn’t get that euphoric moment as he crossed the finish line, but it’s not a huge deal.
When he looks back one day on what will inevitably be a legendary F1 career, he’s not going to hold any meaningful disappointment or regret over those few minutes where he didn’t realise he’d won his second title. In fact, he already finds it “quite funny”.
All of that should not distract our attention away from the serious bit of race mismanagement that took place much earlier. There is no excuse for a recovery vehicle to have appeared on track when it did after the chaotic opening to the race.
Perhaps Gasly needs reminding of the speed he should drive at under the safety car and a red flag – particularly when the track is that wet. So be it. The penalty gets the job done. But Gasly’s actions aren’t the main issue here.
Even at significantly reduced speed, F1 cars are capable of aquaplaning and losing control. In those conditions, and with Suzuka’s tragic history in similar circumstances, it is totally unacceptable for a recovery vehicle to be on track even while the cars are circulating behind the safety car, or under a red flag.
Everyone should be back in the pits before that recovery process begins, for the safety of the drivers and the marshals.
How many more times is F1 going to take these risks?
Sky’s response was tone-deaf
Josh Suttill
For those of us watching Sky’s coverage of the Japanese GP, it was disappointing to see their reaction to Gasly’s near-miss with the recovery vehicle.
Without the benefit of social media, you’d have been forgiven for thinking you were totally wrong to believe the deployment of the recovery vehicle while the drivers were on track in horrendous conditions was a terrible decision.
The focus was firmly placed on Gasly’s driving under the red flag and while the FIA investigated and punished him for driving too quickly, that shouldn’t have been the focus of the scrutiny.
Regardless of his speed, Gasly was placed in an incredibly dangerous position through no fault of his own and is extremely fortunate to have come out of it unscathed.
According to Sky’s pundits, this was standard procedure – a similar line to the one indicated by the FIA – and there was nothing too untoward with the incident.
It was only when drivers like Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris spoke up – and likely somebody at Sky took a look at social media – that the tone finally shifted to something more critical.
This wasn’t the case for all of Sky’s pundits, with co-commentating 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button in particular standing out for his allyship with the current drivers’ position.
Individuals are allowed to have different opinions on incidents but that shift made its original dismissal of the incident feel empty.
It was worrying that Sky appeared so tone-deaf in its response to the farce, especially when it had no problems criticising the FIA in the wake of the controversial 2021 Belgian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, and given the fact it has just extended its exclusive deal with F1 until the end of 2029.
