Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has emerged as the winner of the F1 title at the Japanese Grand Prix. With this win, Verstappen retains the title he had earlier clinched at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

While the Dutch racer emerged as the Formula One champion, his teammate Sergio Pérez finished second. The duo were followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the third position.

Verstappen’s win was, however, marred in controversy. The race ended in only 28 laps, which is only a bit more than its total distance. This happened because Verstappen, the son of former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen, had by then managed to win the points required for him to be declared champion. 

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Leclerc himself could have finished the race as the runner-up, but was penalized for five seconds since he had cut a corner in the final circuit.

Another major controversy that rocked the event was a tractor being deployed on the track before the race was declared over. This irked a number of fans who took to social media to voice their displeasure. One fan said, “Well I never thought I’d see the day where we heard more about a tractor during an F1 race than we did the cars but here we are.”

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Another fan said, “Nah bro this Tractor/Crane situation is insane. How tf does that happen on an F1 RACE?!?”

Check out the tweet right here:

With this win, Verstappen’s has scripted a unique record for himself. He has now become the third F1 driver ever to have won the championship with at least four races yet to take place. The two other drivers who managed to achieve this feat are Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell. Schumacher achieved this feat in 2002 when he bagged the F1 title with six races remaining. Mansell had five races to go after being declared champion in 1992.