Sergio Perez has scored points at the Japanese Grand Prix despite crashing out, thanks to an error in the timing system.
Perez was battling Pierre Gasly for eighth place on the final lap – with both having been lapped by Valtteri Bottas – when they came to blows through Turn 1.
Perez spun and crashed into the barriers and dropped down the order, with Gasly taking eighth, Nico Hulkenberg ninth and Lance Stroll 10th.
But a malfunction in the timing system meant that the chequered flag board was erroneously displayed when Bottas began his 53rd and final lap.
As a consequence the race result has been declared after 52 laps – at which point Perez was still ninth, chasing Gasly.
The timing screens now show Gasly in eighth, as he was at the race finish proper, but Perez is ninth and picks up two points, despite ending up in the Turn 2 barriers.
Hulkenberg thus drops to the foot of the top 10 while Stroll gets bumped to 11th.
The FIA has already begun an investigation as to the cause of the issue.
