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Perez overjoyed for Verstappen: "It's a great day for us"
- GPblog.com
Where the Japanese Grand Prix briefly threatened to be cancelled, Sunday at the Suzuka Circuit ended in frenzy and confusion. By now we know for sure that Max Verstappen has his second world title in Japan. This also to the delight of his teammate Sergio Perez, who played a key role in the whole thing.
Charles Leclerc made a mistake while under pressure from Perez, who was hot on the Ferrari driver's heels in the closing stages of the race. The moment Leclerc shot straight ahead, Perez already knew he was right, as could be heard from his reaction on the team radio. Even before the podium ceremony, the Monegasque was handed a five-second time penalty.
Perez overjoyed for Verstappen
This pushed Perez through to second place, but more importantly, for Verstappen, it meant securing his second world title. "It was a bit hectic with Charles," Perez said in his post-race interview. "We were fighting each other hard and I tried to make a move at the end and I think he locked up and went off on the outside. That was fair racing I think. The penalty is fair."
Even during his interview, it was announced that Leclerc was awarded a time penalty and Verstappen was the world champion, much to Perez's delight. "A great result here and also for Honda. It's amazing A great day for the team. And now a day that Max becomes the champion. It's a great day for us," jubilated Perez, who stressed that the key now is for Red Bull to maintain this momentum until the end of the season.