Verstappen bounces back in perfect 1-2 for Red Bull

Red Bull Racing delivered at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. It was never in doubt that Verstappen and Perez would win that 1-2 finish because of their controlled drives. Carlos Sainz, the Australian Grand Prix winner, places third to join them on the podium.

Before the Japanese Grand Prix started, the drivers proceeded smoothly and without any issues. Unfortunately, things went badly when the pack reached the fast Turn 1. While no one touched, it was clear that there were some very close calls in the back. Zinhu almost hit Magnussen in the back, for instance.

In the end, though, there were no changes in the top 9 spots. Alonso was the only driver in that pack with soft tires, so he seemed eager to challenge Sainz. But he couldn’t progress, and Piastri was trying to pass the Aston Martin. 

In 10th place, Tsunoda lost two positions behind Hulkenberg and Bottas, who initially benefited from soft tires. Ricciardo held an advantage over his teammate from the start, but Tsunoda passed him again at Turn 1. When Ricciardo hit the first left-hander, Albon was on his right but seemed unobserved, causing the Williams driver to be pressed and end up in the gravel and barriers beside Ricciardo. It put an instant end to their racing.

The race was called off to clean up the track. After the 20-minute break, everyone returned to the pits to wait for the next round to begin.

The Red Bulls, McLarens, and Ferraris were all on medium for the second start, 35 minutes after the first one. Ferrari was taking on fresh mediums. Like Hulkenberg and Bottas, Alonso conserved his softs. To make a start, the two Mercedes and the two Alpines, however, put on new hard tires.

Everyone finished the first lap this time without incident. But the Alpines avoided a catastrophic collision by locking up midway in Turn 1 as Russell and Bottas collided without going off course.

Though the Red Bulls did have a nice escape, they didn’t go off in the opening laps. Perez also maintained a close distance behind Verstappen until losing a second on lap 6 when he strayed a little on the Degner 2 exit.

Everyone who started on soft tires pitted in laps 6 and 7 except for the Aston Martin vehicles. Alonso struggled to keep up with Sainz by lap 11, but Stroll had made significant progress and was now in a points-scoring tenth place.

When Norris pulled over early on lap 12, he switched from his mediums to hard Pirelli tires. Piastri did the same on the next lap, dropping the McLarens to eighth and twelve, respectively.

Alonso pulled into his first pit stop as Zhou retired due to a gearbox issue. Ten seconds behind Norris and three seconds ahead of Piastri, he changed to new medium tires and got back on the track in eighth. Norris recorded the fastest lap and, after their stops on lap 16, would finish ahead of Perez and Sainz.

Exciting things were also happening at Mercedes, where the drivers changed places after Hamilton genuinely asked, “Shall I let George pass?” This is a message you hear from a racing driver only sometimes.

Leclerc momentarily took the lead for three laps when Verstappen pitted, but the Red Bull soon caught up with him. Leclerc worked on a lengthy first stint on medium as the two Mercedes tested the hard tires.

Pitching on laps 23 and 24, the Mercedes pair moved to eighth and ninth place.

A few laps later, Perez passed Leclerc for second place because of the latter’s mistake at Degner 2. Just barely, the Ferrari driver was able to keep Norris behind. At the end of that lap, Leclerc rejoined in sixth place and Norris in eighth, further costing him time because he had to pass Russell.

There were many more pit stops around 20 laps left, and Verstappen, Perez, Piastri, and Alonso all had their tires changed. The race winner took a break 16 laps from the end and returned to the race in seventh place, behind the Mercedes pair but ahead of Alonso and Piastri.

Once the Mercedes stopped for the final time, Sainz set out to win another podium. Putting more pressure on Norris, the McLaren driver braked incorrectly at the hairpin, costing him fourth place in the DRS zone later. With the pass, Sainz yelled, “One more to go for the podium,” Leclerc, who was third at the moment, was informed he was battling Norris. On ten laps younger tires, Sainz was faster, and just one lap later, he passed Leclerc for third.

Russell joined them four laps from the end as Piastri appeared unable to pass Alonso. Both Mercedes were approaching quickly. Russell attempted and missed a divebomb at the chicane at the end of lap 49. Piastri lost DRS even though the two did not touch, but it cost them over a second on Alonso.

Hamilton was at 2.4s and not closing the distance quickly, but Piastri was fortunate to obtain DRS off a backmarker the following lap to hold off Russell.

The gaps were again down to 0.9s and 0.7s on the penultimate lap. Piastri quickly lost seventh place to Russell at the chicane at the end of that lap because he missed his braking spot. That cemented their positions because Alonso had managed to flee the fighting. 

Verstappen won up front again, making up for his retirement in the last race. Ferrari was undoubtedly the second-best team at Suzuka, but Sergio Perez helped Red Bull Racing achieve the ideal outcome.

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Note :

Setting the fastest lap of the race earned Verstappen an extra point.