Italian media give Verstappen a ten on report; FIA gets a zero

Italian media lament the loss of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, but cannot ignore the fact that Max Verstappen was grandiose in 2022. The Dutchman receives praise, but the FIA, on the other hand, can count on a zero as a report mark.

The Japanese Grand Prix turned into a 40-minute sprint race. The Suzuka Circuit was so wet at the initial start that a safety car entered the track after just one lap and the red flag was waved on entering lap three. In those 40 minutes of the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen showed why he is the 2022 F1 champion, but besides a big role for the Dutchman in his championship race, there was an even bigger role for the FIA last weekend.

Italian media disgusted with the FIA

The Italian media finds the actions of the governing body downright ludicrous. Thus writes Corriere della Sera: "The Grand Prix was just a short sprint race. There was therefore no need for the FIA to also help him win his second title with such a foolish decision." The Italian newspaper talks about the FIA's decision to give Leclerc a penalty for cutting the corner on the last lap during the fight with Sergio Perez.

The penalty put Leclerc back one place and meant Verstappen was so far clear of the Monegasque in the championship that the Dutchman became champion for the second time in a row. "Leclerc did not benefit from the cut-off, but still got the five-second penalty. It is hard to imagine that Verstappen would have become champion without that intervention as well. A very specific path was followed. The penalty came almost immediately, which is not wrong at all, but in other situations we have not seen it so quickly." Corriere thinks the FIA intervened wilfully fast to allow Verstappen to take the championship on Honda's home ground. "If this is not clarified, the credibility of the FIA will become a laughing stock."

'FIA was the flop of the day'

Corriere dello Sport Seems to agree wholeheartedly with this explanation. "In Japan, Max Verstappen rightly became the world champion. Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Ocon were also honoured for a great performance, but as usual, the FIA was the flop of the day." The newspaper wrote in another post on its website that the Japanese Grand Prix exhibited everything in which the FIA is not efficient enough.

Gazetta dello Sport finally, it also writes that the FIA played a decisive role in Verstappen winning his second title. Although Verstappen receives full praise from the medium for his dominant performance at Suzuka, it reads, "Leclerc, in trouble with little grip, had to give his second place to Sergio Perez at the end. Perez put him under pressure, cutting a chicane at the final corner. He came back and finished second, but race control gave him a penalty and effectively decided the championship."