The story of the race
Max Verstappen he won, dominating, the 2024 Japanese GP. The Dutch Red Bull champion thus brings home his third success in four races at the start of the season, moving up in the standings after his retirement in Melbourne. His teammate placed himself behind him, Sergio Perez, which thus replicates the doubles already achieved by the Milton Keynes team in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Ferrari completes the podium Carlos Sainzthird podium in three GPs held this year.
Behind the Spaniard appears the other red of a very good Charles Leclerc, perfect in tire management during the first stint and capable of recovering from eighth to fourth thanks to the one-stop strategy. Fifth is Lando Norris, who loses two positions compared to the starting position, while sixth is Alonso with Aston Martin. Russell, Piastri, Hamilton and the Racing Bulls of local idol Yuki Tsunoda complete the points.
Mark Webber interviewed the top three finishers after the race.
The words of the top-3
Max Verstappen (1st, Red Bull): “This was a great race. The only problem was at the start, where I had to stay in front. Then the car got better and better. Even with the clouds the track was even more favorable to us. We had a good strategy, we couldn't have done better. Unbeatable? There was a small setback in the last race, but here we were immediately back in front of everyone, in front of this wonderful audience. Winning here is fantastic. China? It will be a hectic weekend with Sprint. We haven't been there in a long time, it will be interesting.”
Sergio Perez (2°, Red Bull): “Today was a good race for the team. Restart? It's always an unknown, you have to maintain concentration the entire time you're still. My second start was better than the first, but not enough to pass Max. In the first stint we then lost the balance a bit, so we lacked a bit of speed in our pace. Then with the mediums I had to push a little too hard to pass Lando. Then in the end I was more comfortable with the hard tires, we had a good pace. From the first stint I struggled with the balance. We are in a good period. It was my worst weekend here last year. If we do well here we can go strong everywhere“.
Carlos Sainz (3rd, Ferrari): “We had a good race. I'm very happy because today on the track it was really difficult with the degradation. But then suddenly when the clouds arrived the degradation dropped a lot. At a certain point I thought we could even make a single stop; then we remained on the two stops and I had to pass Lando and Charles. It's difficult to pass here, I managed to finish them but it was tough. I thought passing was possible, but I knew it would be difficult to get back to fourth or third place. Passing the Mercedes was complicated and then it was really difficult to follow whoever was in front of me. A big performance advantage was needed to bring Lando and Charles closer together. In the end I succeeded and I really like the feeling that the hard tires gave me to push. I managed to pass the two overtakings and take the podium. China? It will be difficult for everyone. We will have the Sprint on a track where we haven't raced for years, it will be a challenge for everyone”.
#Verstappen #master #worry #start
