by Max Verstappen ensured it was business as usual with a dominant, unstoppable victory from pole to flag at the Japanese Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver comfortably beat teammate Sergio Pérez into second at Suzuka, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz third. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton made little progress, finishing seventh and ninth, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth and McLaren’s Lando Norris fifth.
For Verstappen this was another consolidation of the control he has already had during the season in the opening four meetings. He has won three of them with ease and would probably have been on top at the last round in Australia had it not been for the brake failure that ended his race. His consistency is still impressive, since last year the Miami GP only beat him twice, both times by Sainz, once in Singapore in 2023 and then in Melbourne, an unprecedented sequence of dominance.
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Verstappen’s 57th win is his third in a row in Japan, a circuit he knows plays to the Red Bull’s true strengths. The margins are closer than last year as the pack, albeit painfully slowly, is starting to chip away at Red Bull’s advantage but Verstappen remains very much in his own class. In fact, if he were to be seriously challenged there is almost certainly more in the bank for him to draw on. This season, as with last year and 2022 when he consolidated healthy tips, the Dutchman can relax from putting the car to the flag.
Furthermore, the upgrades that Red Bull brought to the meeting seem to have paid off well, setting a course for the opposition and showing that they won’t be standing still and giving them an easy chance to catch up. With their grip on the championship already established, this was an indication that they intend to maintain the advantage, especially in these early stages before they shift resources to next year’s car. A sobering thought for the four neutral races but into a new season, 24-race, where Verstappen now leads Perez with 13 points in the drivers’ championship and finished a full 20 seconds up the road from Sainz.
Verstappen led through turns one and two, but behind him Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon collided entering turn three, leaving both in the wall and the race was immediately red flagged. Both drivers emerged uninjured after heavy impacts.
When racing resumed from a standing start 30 minutes later after the barriers were repaired, Verstappen regained the lead as they charged down the hill in turn, this time with the pack keep the front head clean.
He and Pérez began to extend their lead immediately, with more than two seconds on Norris in the back four. Verstappen also quickly put his team-mate under the foot, setting a series of fastest laps to drop Pérez a further two seconds into sixth.
He was easily in the lead again within the opening ten laps, enjoying a four second lead over Pérez as the opening round of pit stops began. Hamilton, who had outpaced Russell, pulled over to let his team-mate pass on lap 13.
Pérez spun on lap 15, with Verstappen covering him a lap later, and Hamilton, who had been left out for a long time by Mercedes, losing places on the worn rubber.
Verstappen started in second place, behind Leclerc who was still pitted, and Norris managed to bring Pérez through the stops. Verstappen passed Leclerc to regain the lead on lap 21 on the drop to turn one and Pérez managed to pull second from Norris on lap 23.
With the first stops shaken out, Verstappen still had a seven-second lead over his team-mate, a ten-second advantage at lap 29. Most teams adopted a two-stop strategy and Ferrari only aimed to edge Leclerc once only.
Local hero Yuki Tsunoda was at least entertaining in midfield, making two bravura passes for the post in the Essays, a brave ovation at the best of times and a well-deserved crowd ovation, on his way to 10th place
As the second stop worked, McLaren was lost in Ferrari’s gamble. They passed Norris too soon, with one eye on Russell, which left Leclerc with the position on the track and Norris with no tire advantage to chase him. Lost podium for Woking team.
Sainz also caught Norris and got by on lap 44, then overtook his teammate for third two laps late in another fine drive from the Spaniard.
However, it remained simple sailing as Verstappen reasserted his iron grip on the title, managing a solid lead at the flag without putting a foot on it, coming home 12.5 seconds ahead of Pérez.
Fernando Alonso was sixth for Aston Martin and Oscar Piastri was eighth for McLaren.
