Max Verstappen practices another sport: the three-time world champion dominates the Japanese GP and collects his third victory in Suzuka which is the 57th of his career. The Dutchman wanted to restore the hierarchy after the Ferrari double in Australia. Red Bull brought massive development to the RB20 and Miltpn Keynes' team capitalized on their third double of the season with a second place for Sergio Perez who is aiming for a contract renewal after accepting second driver status.
The “cannibal” doesn't want to leave even crumbs to his opponents because on lap 51 he also signed the fastest lap which, in addition to the additional point, gives Max the 13th hot trick with a 1'33″706. It was a great lap sought because shortly before the record had been achieved by Carlos Sainz with the Ferrari only a tenth slower.
Red Bull's supremacy is not in question, but the feeling is that in Milton Keynes they are also faster in developing than Ferrari. The Scuderia, however, achieved its best on a difficult track like Suzuka. After a disappointing qualifying, the red made its skills in preserving the tires in the race count and to Carlos Sainz's 20th career podium (third of the season), he adds an excellent fourth place for Charles Leclerc who gained four positions from eighth in grill
The Monegasque demonstrated his potential in the race: with the medium tires (named by Pirelli for a lifetime of 18 laps) he performed a perfect stint of 27 laps which allowed him to change his strategy in just one stop, earning a pit on their opponents. Charles is third in the drivers' championship ahead of Sainz, 4 points behind. The Spaniard had a free run at the end to pass his teammate, to avoid a possible return from Lando Norris. The Scuderia has achieved its objective: confirming itself as the second force in the championship. If the dominant Red Bull has 141 points in the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari is not far behind as it is on 120 points, with only 21 less. McLaren, third, is light years away at 71 points.
Leclerc confirmed that Ferrari has a good race pace, but the SF-24 pays too much in qualifying and ending up in traffic penalizes the red drivers who have the potential to be closer to Red Bull. And let's stop saying that the Cavallino has halved the gap to Verstappen (20 seconds compared to 40 in September), because it's time to look ahead rather than praising ourselves for the step forward made.
McLaren has disappointed expectations. Third position at the start was an invention of Lando Norris: the MCL38 doesn't have the pace in the race and the Englishman had to settle for a fifth place which gives the value of the Woking car. He did not impress Oscar Piastri only eighth with the second “papaya” car: for now the Australian talent is not emerging as one might have expected.
Among the protagonists of the day was Fernando Alonso who allowed himself to overtake Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship with sixth place. The Spaniard had started on the soft tires to attempt an aggressive start, but the crash on the first lap between Daniel Ricciardo and Alexander Albon nullified the strategic choice. The “green girl” with the aerodynamic update has taken a step forward, but the 44 seconds from the top are still a long time.
Bad for Mercedes as it clings to what it has in its hands, namely yet another wrong single-seater. At the restart from the red flag George Russell and Lewis Hamilton attempted to start on hard tires, but the move didn't pay off. Russell finished seventh and Hamilton ninth: too little for the Star's ambitions. Russell is under investigation for pushing Piastri off the track on lap 51: he could be penalized and, therefore, his ranking could change…
The top 10 is completed by Yuki Tsunoda: in front of the home crowd the Japanese did his thing with a Racing Bull which opens the second group, i.e. the lapped group. F1 is split into two blocks, with the Faenza team leading the… Serie B. Nico Hulkenberg arrived on the edge of the points zone with Haas, while Kevin Magnussen finished 13th. Lance Stroll slipped between the two with the second Aston Martin.
Daniel Ricciardo and Alexander Albon's race lasted just three corners: the Australian with the Racing Bulls at the entrance to turn 3 widens to draw the line and doesn't notice that the Anglo Thai has slipped on the outside. Daniel loses control of the car and ends up in the external barriers, followed by the Williams which has a worse impact angle and the nose slips into the protections. Ricciardo immediately leaves the cockpit, while Alex takes longer, but immediately reassures via radio that he is unharmed. The race direction stopped the GP with the red flag to help the riders and restore the protections. It took half an hour.
Valtteri Bottas had flashes of life with Sauber: the Finn finished 14th ahead of the disastrous Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. The Hinwil team avoided the pit stop, setting a slow tire change which allowed them to do the operation in 4 seconds instead of the previous half minute. A step forward…
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