Max Verstappen was officially crowned world champion after the Japanese Grand Prix. Taking the victory and the (ultimately) associated 25 points, he is now too far ahead of Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc to be overtaken.
For a long time it looked like the battle for the world title would be extended up to and including the American Grand Prix, but an extra piece in the rulebook ensured that Verstappen was already crowned two-time world champion in Japan. Because the race would have restarted after a red flag, full points were still paid out.
Verstappen still the champion
With those full points, Verstappen now comes to a total of 366 points, increasing the gap to number two Perez to 113 points. Leclerc on P3 is also out of reach. Those two drivers will fight it out in the final four races of the season to see who becomes this season's runner-up, with only one point difference at the moment.
It was otherwise a bad day for Carlos Sainz's championship and George Russell also lost ground. Lewis Hamilton did score good points and Alpine's boys are also climbing in the championship. The biggest surprise was Nicholas Latifi, who took his first two points of this season with ninth place.