Singapore GP Japanese GP
The inevitability of Max Verstappen winning the 2022 world championship could only be delayed for so long. He had a chance of taking it in Singapore (round 17 of 22) but the weekend rather got away from him. This was corrected in the most emphatic manner seven days later in a Japanese Grand Prix which almost didn’t happen.
Rain played a decisive part in what played out upon F1’s return to these classic two Asian venues after a three-year Covidimposed absence. In Singapore, a slicksshod Q3 on a drying track meant everyone was fuelled to run the whole session on a single set of tyres as it was essential to be on track at all times, so uncertain was the weather. The rain held off and each lap was whole chunks faster than the previous. This was the crucial backdrop to a rare Red Bull miscalculation, one which cost Verstappen an almost certain pole and left him starting eighth on the notoriously difficult-to-pass street circuit.
The team instructed Verstappen to abort his penultimate lap – which in hindsight would have been good for pole – because it could see that he otherwise would be baulked towards the end of the final lap, when the track was expected to be significantly faster. Although the aborted penultimate lap
