Culture Behind the News -CBTN 20221010 — Verstappen is champion amid chaos in Japan

The Anglo-Saxon cultural Commonwealth was stressed out yesterday when at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix Max Verstappen was pronounced Formula 1 World Champion for the 2022 season.

The headlines:

CNN: Chaos and confusion as Max Verstappen is crowned world champion.

BBC: Verstappen seals title amid confusion after Japan win.

So, what happened in Japan, and what were the cultural factors behind the news?

The news

It rained at the Suzuka racetrack, a lot. Because of that, the start of the Grand Prix was delayed. Eventually the race began, but after just two laps it was suspended (red flag) because visibility was very bad. The track was too wet, and a few cars had spun out of control and crashed, with no serious injuries. For safety reasons, the race director ordered the red flag.

They waited for the rain to stop, or at least to diminish. The problem was that, as the afternoon went on, it might be too late to have a race, because the evening was coming, and soon there would not be enough daylight to have a race, even in a dry track. Eventually the race was re-started, and the race director announced it would finish by 17:00 local time.