FACTS AND STATS: Verstappen matches Alonso’s title and win tally after claiming championship in Suzuka

For the second race in succession, rain played a major role in how things played out in Japan on Sunday. Unlike Singapore, however, this Grand Prix ended with Max Verstappen crowned champion for a second time – and the parallels with a certain Spaniard didn’t end there. Here’s our round-up of those and the other key numbers from Suzuka…

• Today was the first time a drivers’ championship has been clinched at Suzuka since Sebastian Vettel in 2011.

• Verstappen’s 12th win of the season has put him within one of the single-season record set by Michael Schumacher in 2004 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013.

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• Verstappen’s victory was Red Bull’s first win at Suzuka in hybrid era.

• Verstappen had never led a lap at Suzuka before today.

• It was the 32nd career win for Verstappen, which ties Fernando Alonso’s total.

• Verstappen surpassed 5,000 miles in the lead in his career today.

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• With Perez following Verstappen home in second place, Red Bull took their fifth one-two finish of the season, the most they’ve ever scored in a single year.

• Perez scored consecutive podium finishes for the first time since Monaco and Azerbaijan.

• Perez had never previously finished in the top-six at Suzuka, having finished seventh on three previous occasions.

• Charles Leclerc’s fourth consecutive podium finish matches his longest career run, set twice in 2019, even though his five-second time penalty cost him second place in the race and ended his championship hopes.

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• Esteban Ocon’s P4 was Alpine’s best result of 2022 to date.

• Lewis Hamilton’s P5 for Mercedes was his worst Suzuka result since he retired from the 2013 race.

• Today was Hamilton’s 306th start, putting him level with Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button for fourth on the all-time list.

• With Sebastian Vettel in P6, Aston Martin scored back-to-back top-six finishes – Lance Stroll was sixth last time out in Singapore.

• Vettel beat the Alpine of Fernando Alonso by just 0.011s.

• Alonso’s P7 secured his first points at Suzuka since finishing fourth for Ferrari in 2013.

• With P8, today was only the third time Mercedes’ George Russell has not finished in the top-five this year, but it was the second time in a row.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from a dramatic Japanese GP as Verstappen seals his second World Championship

• With P9, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi scored for the first time this season.

• It was the fifth time this year Williams have been in the points.