| ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE: NOVEMBER 7 – NOVEMBER 12 | |||
| MONDAY | NOVEMBER 7 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 8 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 9 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 6:00pm | Girls Swimming and Diving Section Prelims | St. Catherine University | |
| THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 10 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 6:00pm | Girls Diving Finals | St. Catherine University | |
| FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 11 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
| 6:00pm | Girls Swimming and Diving Section Finals | St. Catherine University | |
| SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 12 | ||
| TIME | BUS TIMES | EVENT | LOCATION |
Category Archives: Sports
Highland Park punches two tickets to the MN state meet
By: Abby Altman
A lot was riding on the Highland Parks Scots’ performance at the 2022 section 3AA meet. In the last 5 years, the boys and girls cross country teams at Highland have made several state appearances each. 2021 was perhaps the most successful state meet in Highland history. The girls team won the state meet, while the boys team came in third.
2 years ago, Highland Park was moved down a section due to their school size, placing them into competition with teams slower than their previous section. Last year, this helped the team secure their spots at state with much less anxiety and stress. This year, the competition has increased, especially on the boys side.
This year, Two Rivers, Highland Park, and St. Thomas Academy all finished the section meet within 10 points of each other. Two Rivers took 1st place, taking the first spot at the state meet, with 49 points. Highland was very close behind, taking 2nd place, and the final spot at state, with 51 points. St. Thomas Academy finished in 3rd place, just missing out on state, with 58 points. To put emphasis on how close these point totals are, the 4th place team finished with 130 points.
In the boys 5K race, Highland had runners place 1st and 2nd, finishing just 4 seconds apart. Gavin Roberts cruised to the finish line in 1st place, with a time of 16:16. His teammate, Davis Isom, kicked hard right behind him, trying to ensure he beat the runner from Two Rivers, who finished 2 seconds behind Isom.
Highland then had runners finish in places 12, 13, 23, 27, and 30.
The boys team is ranked 4th overall in class AA.
“There is only excitement going into state”, said senior Ben Martin. “We don’t have any expectations other than to have our best race of the season”.
The boys team believes there are around 6 teams with a chance of winning, and they are one of them. “We know the race will be super close, and that just makes it more fun”, said Martin.
On the girls side of the race, the pressure wasn’t quite as high. The girls team has been ranked number 1 in class AA all season, and for good reason. They’re fast.
The Highland Park girls took 1st place at sections this year, beating 2nd place Two Rivers 26-60. Luna Scorzelli finished 1st, 38 seconds ahead of 2nd place, with a time of 18:11. Delia Johnson, also from Highland, finished 2nd with a time of 18:49.
Highland finishers took places 4, 9, 10, 16, and 24.
Looking ahead to the state meet, Luna Scorzelli is ranked #1 in class AA, and Delia Johnson is ranked #8. Highland is the only girls team with more than 1 runner ranked in the top 12.
“There is definitely some pressure to repeat previous results this year. This can be super stressful, but it’s also super exciting”, said senior Delia Johnson. “I’m grateful to be on such a hard working and high performing team and I’m looking forward to showing everyone what we’re capable of”.
The state meet is on Saturday, November 5th, at St. Olaf college.
MNUFC vs Dallas recap of playoff game, plus offseason preview
By: Aeden Evenson-McDermott
Following the last regular season game against Vancouver, the Loons were able to find momentum going into the Dallas game. The Loons would be asking themselves for more as it was a tough ask to win against FC Dallas. The first half started with the teams feeling each other out.
Both sides were evenly matched with Dallas and Minnesota each exchanging shots on net. Dallas maintained 60% of the possession but the Loons were able to hold their own thanks to a strong back line presence and incredible saves by goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
The first half ended in a 0-0 draw with both teams asking for more. It was certainly an entertainer for fans to take in.
In the second half, both teams would exchange chances near the goal. The combination of higher intensity and aggressiveness would be key to the rest of the match. This would lead to the greatest opportunity of the game in the 53rd minute when Bongi Hlongwane dribbled into the box and dished the ball off to Emanuel Reynoso for an incredible left foot finish into the bottom of the net.
But in the 64th minute, Dallas was able to get a goal of their own off the corner kick from Matt Hedges to be headed into the goal by Facundo Quignon, 1-1.
Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair played quite well and made numerous saves throughout the game. After the 90 minutes of full time, the match would head to 30 minutes of extra time. Both sides did a few substitutions in order to get fresh legs into the game. Both teams went back and forth and none could break the deadlock.
With the end of the additional 30 minutes of extra time, the game would be decided by penalty kicks. This would ultimately determine the fate of the Loons 2022 season. Dallas converted all five of their penalties while the Loons got four out of the five and Captain Will Trapp missed his shot.
Another disappointing end to the season as the Loons appeared to have fallen short again. Hopefully next year will be better!
As for the postseason, the guys are off for a short period of time and will resume training in early January before the season starts in late February or early March.
With the FIFA World Cup coming up in late November, Dayne St. Clair will be with the Canadian national team but it remains to be seen if he will actually get any playing time.
As for the Loons, The off-season will come with new changes to the team personnel. A decent amount of players that were on the bench predominately will leave and begin new chapters. Many of the top players with the likes of Reynoso, Lod, and St. Clair will stay.
The new changes I expect to see will be a younger center back, more strikers as we need attacking ability, and more strength in depth for midfield as well, possible goalkeeper changes if Tyler Miller leaves the club too.
Looking forward to the next season and seeing how the club makes changes to further improve our team as we once again start over to make our playoff push.
Highland Park vs Central volleyball
By: Grace Blumer-LaMotte
Highland Park High School went against Central High School in volleyball on Thursday, October 6th, 2022. C-Squad and Junior Varsity played at 5:30 pm, while Varsity played at 7 pm.
All 3 teams of Highland won against Central that night.
Varsity formally goes to 5 sets, if needed. The first team to win 3 sets wins the match. Highland lost the first set but came back strong and won the next three sets, leading them to victory. Almost all of the sets were very close, only having a few point differences.
Varsity consists of these players: Grace Blumer-LaMotte (Senior), Grace Adrian (Senior), Sunshine Vang (Senior), Bella Kottke (Senior), Ayana Bougie (Senior), Leila Hagedorn (Senior), Kate Reubish (Junior), Alyssa Ramos (Junior), Molly Hanley (Junior), Ella Johnson (Junior), Mary Kock (Sophomore), Ella Sutherland (Sophomore).
Bella Kottke, the middle hitter of HPSH, had a huge thirteen kills. Mary Koch, another middle hitter of HPSH, had hit .500. Molly Hanley, an outside hitter, led the team with four aces, with three in a row in the third set. Ayana Bougie, the setter, had seventeen digs. Molly Hanley and Alyssa Ramos, the HPSH libero, both had fourteen digs each. Kate Reubish, a hitter of HPSH, and Ayana Bougie had zero service errors. Bella Kottke also led with five big blocks at the net.
The whole team served with amazing accuracy of 92.3%. The team also had a hitting percentage of .210.
The student section was growing as the game went on. There were a good hundred students in the bleachers. The theme for the game was “White Out” due to the school colors of Highland Park Senior High, red and white. The student section shouted and cheered for all of the small victories during the game such as kills, digs, blocks, etc. They would chant various different things like “We Are The Scotties, The Mighty Mighty Scotties”, “Scoreboard”, and just overall cheering for certain players. Once the Scots won against Central the student section swarmed the court and cheered on the whole team.
On Thursday, October 13th, 2022, Highland Park Senior High took on Central High school at Central for a second time. C-Squad and Junior Varsity played at 5:30 pm, while Varsity played at 7 pm.
All 3 teams of Highland won against Central that night.
Varsity formally goes to 5 sets, if needed. The first team to win 3 sets wins the match. Highland lost the first set (21-25) but came back strong and won the second set (25-18). It went on for another 3 sets, Central winning the fourth set (21-25) and Highland winning the final set (15-12), leading them to victory. Almost all of the sets were very close, only having a few point differences.
Varsity consists of these players: Grace Blumer-LaMotte (Senior, #10), Grace Adrian (Senior #12), Sunshine Vang (Senior #3)), Bella Kottke (Senior #18), Ayana Bougie (Senior #13), Leila Hagedorn (Senior #27), Kate Reubish (Junior #11), Alyssa Ramos (Junior #2), Molly Hanley (Junior #9), Ella Johnson (Junior 1), Mary Koch (Sophomore #14), Ella Sutherland (Sophomore #6). Varsity is coached by Sonje Odegard (Head).
Kill Stats: Bella Kottke, the middle hitter, led the team with 22 kills. Kills are when the ball hits the ground without anyone touching it. She also had a hitting percentage of .326. Kate Reubish, a right-side hitter, had 15 kills. Mary Koch, another middle hitter, had 11 kills. Molly Hanley, a right-side hitter, had 7 kills. Ayana Bougie-Martinez, the setter, had 5 kills. Finally, Ella Sutherland, an outside, had 3 kills. Overall the team had 63 total kills.
Serve Stats: Alyssa Ramos, the libero, had 8 serve aces. Serve aces are when either none of the players touch the ball when it goes over the net, or if someone shanks the ball off of first contact. Ayana Bougie-Martinez had 4 serve aces. Molly Hanley had 3 serve aces. Sunshine Vang, a defensive specialist, had 2 serve aces. Overall the team had 18 serve-aces.
Defense Stats: Alyssa Ramos led the team with 22 digs. Bella Kottke had 18 digs. Molly Hanley had 12 digs. Ayana Bougie-Martinez had 8 digs. Sunshine Vang had 7 digs. Kate Reubish had 4 digs. Ella Sutherland and Mary Koch both had 2 digs. Overall the team had 75 digs total.
Overall, volleyball team dominated Central this year.
Systematic abuse in USA women’s soccer:
By: Mia David
On Monday, October 3rd, 2022, a report was released by former Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates. It showed the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and U.S. Soccer Federation’s (USSF) inability to provide a safe environment for their players.
This report includes 200 interviews that investigators conducted. This investigation started long before this month. About a year ago, NWSL players Sinead Farralley and Mana Shim came forward about inappropriate behavior from former coach Paul Riley.
Paul Riley was let go by the Portland Thorns and was able to get a new coaching position five months later for the team Flash. Riley is not the only coach to be passed around the organization with little to no punishment for their actions.
According to CBS News, the report focuses on Riley, Christy Holly of Racing Louisville, and Rory Dames of the Chicago Red Stars. It goes into depth regarding the coaches’ actions and what their individual teams did in response.
This report talks in depth about how these coaches and other coaches are allowed to move from one team to another. They do this without any repercussions regarding their past behavior on other teams.
“Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players,” the report reads.
The report goes on to highlight the steps that U.S. Soccer will take to address the recommendations in the report. These recommendations end up being a total of 172 pages.
According to ESPN, these recommendations include implementing an office of participant safety to oversee the USSF’s conduct policies, publishing soccer records from SafeSport, mandating a background check of all employees, and more.
The NWSL and USSF have had problems with systematic abuse since they were first formed. However, this report coming out is being seen as a turning point. These organizations and abusive coaches are being forced to face the consequences.
Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks face off in the first NHL game in Milwaukee in 29 years
By: Ann McMullen
On October 2nd, Minnesota and Chicago’s NHL teams faced off at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee.
Although this was a preseason game, it was still of great importance to the teams, the fans, and the league as a whole. According to the Blackhawks’ president of business operations, over 80% of ticket sales were to Wisconsin residents, despite Milwaukee’s close proximity to Chicago.
Some fans are hopeful that a Milwaukee arena hosting a game could be the first step towards a professional hockey team there, while others are just happy to see the sport successfully spreading to other major cities.
Either way, considering this was the first NHL game in Wisconsin’s biggest city, in nearly 30 years, Milwaukee citizens and travelers alike enjoyed lots of festivities surrounding the game. These included exclusive merchandise, tailgating, and discounts on lots of local food and drinks.
The game itself was spectacular as well — from a Wild fan’s standpoint, at least. Minnesota scored 3 goals, beginning with two short handed ones in the second period of play. The final goal was scored midway through the third period, with both teams at full power.
Fans from both sides enjoyed watching Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury play the entire game, as the highly acclaimed athlete actually played for Chicago the previous season. Fleury was able to block all 12 shots from his former team, leading the Minnesota Wild to a shutout and their fourth consecutive win of the preseason.
Despite disappointment regarding the score from some Blackhawks fans, this “home-away-from-home” game was a great success. Whether or not a professional hockey team is ever implemented in Wisconsin, I hope the National Hockey League will continue to host games in other major cities in North America, and beyond, and further expand the sport’s fan base.
Fantasy football studs and duds – through week 7
By: Toby Martin-Kohls
Stud: Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
Saquon came into the season coming off a poor 2021 season that saw him play in only 13 games while injuring his ankle and getting placed into the NFL’s COVID protocol. He averaged a career-low 3.7 yards per carry and only scored 2 touchdowns in 13 regular season games. He also lost his first NFL fumble.
This season he has looked like he’s back into his first two seasons’ form when he had back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. So far, in 2022, he is averaging a career-best 5.1 ypc and 104 rushing yards per game.
His ADP (average draft position) on ESPN this season was 22, as the RB8 overall. Through 7 weeks he has scored 137 fantasy points, good for RB2 on the year, only trailing Chargers RB Austin Ekeler. According to oddsmakers, Barkley is the current favorite to take home the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
Dud: Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor was largely the consensus No.1 pick in most fantasy drafts this season. Coming off a monster year where he was the best player in fantasy, he has disappointed a lot of managers this year. Last year he played in all 17 regular season games, rushing for over 1,800 yards and 18 touchdowns. He scored 369 fantasy points on the year, good for an average of 21.7ppg.
Because of his scarce injury history, and the Colts’ willingness to run the ball, he was considered the consensus No. 1 pick this year. An ankle injury has forced him to miss two weeks this year, but even before that, he was underperforming. He currently sits with 62 fantasy points, as the overall RB31.
Stud: Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Josh Jacobs has certainly surprised owners this year, finally breaking out, as he is sitting at RB4 on the year. Throughout his 4-year NFL career, he has been a solid, but not an overly spectacular choice for fantasy managers. Coming into this season there were questions around a timeshare with backup running backs Kenyan Drake, Ameer Abdullah, and rookie Zamir White. Jacobs has proven that he is the superior back and the Raiders with continue to feed him the ball.
Jacobs has been red hot the past 3 weeks, averaging over 30 points per game. Jacobs just became the third player in Raiders franchise history to record 150 scrimmage yards and score a TD in three consecutive games, joining Marcus Allen from 1985, and Clem Daniels from 1966. Jacobs is a locked and loaded RB1 for the rest of the season.
Dud: Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons
I think the whole fantasy community can agree that Pitts is one of the biggest busts that hurts this fantasy season. Coming into the season, he was being thought of and drafted as the TE3 behind only Mark Andrews and Travis Kelce. On average, he was being drafted around the 3rd/4th round turn in 12-team PPR (point per reception) leagues.
After becoming only the second rookie TE ever in NFL history to have a 1,000-yard season, expectations were high. However, it is clear that the Falcons are a run-first team right now and that head coach Arthur Smith does not trust his starting QB, Marcus Mariota, to throw the ball many times per game.
The Falcons are currently 2nd to last in the league in passing yards per game with only 1,062 yards on the year for an average of 152 yards per game. Pitts is borderline droppable at this point except for perhaps deeper leagues, and only because of his uber talent and upside at the weak TE position.
Minnesota United final regular season game plus preview of the playoffs
By: Aeden Evenson-McDermott
On Decision Day in MLS, the Loons hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps at home at Allianz Field. Coming into this game, there were high expectations and a good amount of pressure on the Loons to finally win a game after not winning a game in the previous six fixtures. If the Loons won they would be into the playoffs! A loss would be the end of the season and a tie would get them over the line but only receiving the seventh spot. As for Vancouver, they would have to win the game outright.
The final game of the season at home would be crucial in order for the Loons to have the home team momentum. The record setting number of fans echoing voices boosted the Loons momentum and would help the team through the match.
Vancouver would be off to the start early with a few beautiful opportunities to score against the Loons, especially in the 6th minute when Vancouver was in front of the goal and almost scored. They would also have a few other chances but none could reach the back net. Loon’s goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair had glorious saves and made sure the ball stayed out of the net.
After a nerving start, the Loons got composed and in the 17th minute, Argentine midfielder Franco Fragapane rolled the ball into the bottom right corner. 1-0 loons!
Throughout the remaining time of the first half and even into the second half, both the Loons and the Whitecaps showed their progressive attacking chances going forward.
An All Star performance by goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who also received the Man of the Match, helped the Loons keep a clean sheet (not since July 16) and not concede a goal vs Vancouver.
The end of Vancouver’s season would be when newly arrived midfielder Jonathan González slammed the ball into the back of the net in the 77th minute!
The Loons showed their character after some unfortunate matches in order to book their spot in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. They would receive the 6th spot and would make the playoffs for the 4th straight year!
Looking to Monday October 17th, the Loons will travel to Dallas to take on the 3rd spot team, FC Dallas, at 8:30 pm for the first round of the playoffs. Dallas is a strong team but results have not been the best for them as of late. T
he Loons will have to prove once again how they can play anybody day in day out in order for a victory. It should be a good game and a true test for both teams. The MLS Playoffs should be exciting and best of luck to all teams!
Highland Park sweeps the SPPS conference cross country meet
By: Abby Altman
On Monday afternoon, teams from 7 Saint Paul high schools showed up to the Highland Golf Course to compete for the conference title.
Como Park, Harding, Humboldt, Central, Johnson, and Washington Tech all put their best runners forward to try and compete with the reigning champions, Highland Park. The Highland Park girls team has won 11 straight city conference titles, while the boys team has won 3 straight.
For the Boys race, there was a lot of pressure on many runners. Highland Park and Como Park were both section champions and state qualifiers in 2021, and the conference title would not be an easy one to win for either team. Como’s number 1 runner, Charlie Power Theisen, is ranked 11 overall in class AA for the state of Minnesota.
Power Theisen was expected to win the boys race, and he did just that. He finished with a time of 15:40, which was 22 seconds ahead of 2nd place, who happened to be Charlie’s teammate, Mason Aarness.
Highland Park’s first runner, Gavin Roberts, crossed the finish line right behind Aarness, and was soon followed by teammate Ben Martin. Highland Park had runners finish in places 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9, while Como had runners finish 1, 2, 5, 13, and 14.
“It feels great to represent Como in the conference,” said Power Theisen after winning his 3rd straight conference title.
Highland Park beat Como by 4 points. In comparison, there was a 28 point difference between Como Park and 3rd place, Central.
The results for the Varsity boys race were 1) Highland Park, 2) Como Park, 3) Central, 4) Humboldt, 5) Washington, 6) Johnson, and 7) Harding.
Highland Park is ranked number 5 overall in Class AA.
Highland’s Boys Varsity team consists of 5 seniors out of 7 runners. Graduation will likely take a toll on the future of the boys team.
For the girls, this meet was not as stressful as previous meets they’ve attended. “The pre-race atmosphere contributed to so many amazing races,” said senior Delia Johnson. “There was no nervous energy. We were all confident, calm, and energized with team spirit.”
The Highland Park girls team won the conference title by a wide margin. Junior Luna Scorzelli cruised to the finish line with a new school record of 17:25. Senior Delia Johnson followed in 2nd place with a time of 18:17. Highland finished just shy of a perfect score, with runners coming in at 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7, with Laura McClary from Central finishing in 4th.
Only 4 teams were able to fill a lineup for the girls varsity meet. Highland Park, Central, Humboldt, and Washington, (finishing in that order), filled out full rosters and competed for the conference title.
The Highland Park girls are ranked number 1 in Class AA state. The reigning state champions do not appear to have lost any of their fire or determination over the past year.
“There is mostly excitement in terms of results,” says senior Chloe Koch. “Everyone just wants to see how fast they can race and have fun at the same time.” Koch also said that “There is some pressure to perform well but that isn’t being pushed by the coaches or the team. We know everyone will run super well.”
Confidence is exuding from the Highland Park girls as they look ahead to sections next week.
Unlike the boys team, the girls team will likely not be as affected by graduating seniors. Only 2 seniors currently hold varsity roster spots, and the girls JV team is on fire this season and has many girls ready to fill those spots.
Highland Park also took home the JV trophies, as JV boys and girls took the number 1 spot in their races.
Junior Will Pinto won the JV boys race, and sophomore Sam Palm took home the JV girls victory.
The HP JV girls have been undefeated in races this season, and dominated the playing field at Conference. Highland put 35 girls into the JV race, and in the top 30 finishers out of 60, only 3 were not from Highland.
All teams will be looking ahead to their section meets next week.
The end of the F1 season and the Suzuka Grand Prix
By: Jocelyn Knorr
The evening was a rainy one; the race had been red-flagged for so long that the sun was starting to go down. The grandstands were only sparsely populated, cold or hunger beating out excitement. And, unbeknownst to him, Max Verstappen had just won the Suzuka Grand Prix.
So, how did this happen, anyways?
Let’s back it up a bit. Suzuka is a racetrack in Japan, carrying the name of the city it was built in. It’s known for it’s figure-eight track and calm atmosphere—Japanese fans tend to be calm and polite. To illustrate my point, there were no orange flares with the usual Verstappen crowd in sight last week. Plenty of fun hats, though! Notable examples include rear wings, onboard cameras, and one miniature AlphaTauri—with working wheels! Thirteen World Driver’s Championships have now been decided there, including Sunday’s.
This track in particular is a very special place for Max Verstappen; the Dutchman made his F1 debut there, as a Practice 1 driver for what is now AlphaTauri. That made him the youngest driver ever in F1, at 17 years and 3 days. He will hold that record for the rest of F1’s history—the FiA, the international authority for most motorsport, no longer hands out Super Licenses to those under 18.
Verstappen has since experienced a meteoric rise; the 25-year-old is now under contract with Red Bull Racing until 2028. He won his first championship in 2021, after a long, brutal fight with Mercedes driver, and 7-time WDC, Lewis Hamilton, and now has 33 race wins under his belt. 13 of those are from this season alone; he’s won more races in 2022 than anyone else put together.
Sunday’s race had only gone two laps before being stopped due to heavy weather. This is fairly standard—a race was even called off entirely in 2020 due to inclement conditions that could have put the drivers at risk of death—even if Japan does have a tendency towards caution when it comes to suspensions and delays.
It took two hours to get the cars back out on track. As the FiA has imposed a three-hour event limit on racing events, the remaining 18 drivers—Albon’s radiator failed on lap 1 and Sainz spun into the barriers on lap 2—only had 42 minutes to the checkered flag. Verstappen qualified second, after Charles Leclerc, but managed to pull ahead before the red flag.
Because of the rain, race control implemented a rolling start behind the safety car so that the drivers could get used to the conditions. When the safety car left, Verstappen pulled ahead again, and remained there for the rest of the race.
So, how did Verstappen end up winning the Championship without his knowledge?
Well, let’s refocus. After the 2021 Belgium Grand Prix was canceled due to inclement weather, the FiA installed a points system for shortened Grands Prix, rather than awarding full points as was done on that occasion. If less than 25% of the race is completed, 6 points are awarded to the winner, 4 to the person in second place, and 3 to the person in third; if over 25%, but less that 50%, is completed, the points awarded are 13-10-8, and if 50%-75% is completed, the points awarded are 19-14-12. Anything over 75%, points are awarded as usual.
As the race progressed, it was looking more and more like we would end with slightly under 75% of the race completed—with 19 points earned, Verstappen would win the Grand Prix but not the championship. Then, Charles Leclerc, who had been fighting with Checo Perez, overtook the Red Bull driver off-track on the last lap. A five-second time penalty and demotion was handed out to Leclerc post race. This 5-second penalty pushed us over the 75% mark, allowing full points to be awarded.
Verstappen finished the race in first, but was under the impression that he still needed one more point to win the championship. He remained that way through post-race interviews, only to find out in the cool down room, via a door labeled “Reserved for World Champion.”
So, what does this mean for the season going forward? The next race is in Austin, on the 22nd, and though the Championship is decided, there’s more fun to be had. For example, what of the Constructors? Red Bull Racing hasn’t won the Constructors since 2013, narrowly missing out on it in 2021. There’s also the second place to be decided, Leclerc and Perez separated by only one point, not to mention Alpine and McLaren’s race for top of the midfield.
So, a very warm congratulations to Max Verstappen on his 2nd WDC, and don’t stop watching the season yet! The very best is still to come.
UPDATE: Since the writing of this article, the Austin race has been decided. Max won again, and Red Bull won the Constructors. Second place is still up in the air, making the next race, in Mexico City, important to those still in the hunt.
Plaid Line + PRIZM + Scottie News 