I didn't think I'd be up in time to watch the Japanese Grand Prix this morning, but the race was red flagged due to rain after a couple of laps. There was then a long delay before they restarted and raced for about 40 minutes, which took them up to the end of the time limit window.
The race was won from pole by Max Verstappen, who drove a great race and pulled out a nearly 30-second lead in the limited running and terrible weather conditions. Max's team mate, Sergio Perez, made it a team 1-2 after second placed driver and title contender Charles Leclerc was given a 5-second penalty for gaining an advantage by leaving the track on the last bend. Behind them, Lewis Hamilton had a great battle with Esteban Ocon, but couldn't get past, and Ocon's team mate, Fernando Alonso, couldn't get past Sebastian Vettel even with fresher tires. Finishing in ninth, Williams driver Nicholas Latifi picked up his first points of the year - the last full-time driver to do so.
After the race there was some confusion over the points due to rules concerning races that don't go full distance. Apparently it makes a difference whether the race finishes on the track or under a red flag, so it wasn't until the top three drivers were in the cool-down room before the trophy presentations that they were able to announce that Max Verstappen had won his second World Championship with four races still to go. He's dominated this season by winning 12 of the 18 races so far.
There was some controversy just before the initial red flag because a recovery vehicle was on the track as at least one car passed it at speed. Eight years ago, French driver Jules Bianchi died after hitting a recovery vehicle at the same event in similar conditions.
If you've never seen F1 cars race in the rain, you can check out the highlights here. The next race is the US Grand Prix from Austin in two weeks' time.
A bit of driver news: Pierre Gasly is moving to Alpine next year to make an all-French line-up alongside Esteban Ocon. Former Formula 2 champion Nyck de Vries takes his place at Alpha Tauri after impressing while standing in for Alex Albon last month.