Suzuka looked resplendent as it took its new position on the calendar in spring, with the track consumed by beautiful cherry blossoms. Red Bull’s season continued to flourish with a strong performance in Japan, but it was not so rosy for some of its rivals. We select our winners and losers of the Japanese Grand Prix…
Winner: Max Verstappen
Normal service resumed for Max Verstappen in Japan, the Red Bull driver recovering from his first DNF in 43 races in Australia to take a convincing victory at one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar.
This was the reigning world champion’s third consecutive victory at Suzuka, taking pole for the 30th time in his career and his third victory in four Grands Prix this season.
The Dutchman became the fourth driver in history to lead more than 3,000 laps in a Grand Prix, after Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, and his victory came 10 years after he debuted in a weekend of Grand Prix in F1 with Toro Rosso.
Losers: Williams
Williams can’t take a break at the moment, the British team suffered a second big crash in as many weeks when Logan Sargeant approached the barriers in first practice, the damage was so significant that he missed FP2.
Alex Albon then hit the tire wall after just three corners into the Grand Prix when he made contact with Daniel Ricciardo, leaving Williams with an even bigger damage bill from Suzuka.
With both cars at war, the two sets of upgraded parts they brought to Japan had to be thrown away, and they now face a race against time to produce more for the upcoming race in China.
Winner: Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda is in the form of his life right now, the Japanese driver is unbeaten in his head-to-head qualifying with RB teammate Ricciardo so far this season after reaching Q3 for the third race in a row .
After a bad start at the start, which saw him swallowed up by the rest, he recovered on the second restart (there was a red flag to repair the barriers after the collision of Albon and Ricciardo) to regain the fight for the points.
READ MORE: ‘Relieved’ Tsunoda praises ‘crazy’ RB pitstop as he scores a point at home
He showed supreme pace throughout the Grand Prix, pulling off a couple of sensational moves on the outside in the Esses to demonstrate his confidence in himself and the car on his way to tenth place.
That point made him the first Japanese driver to score in his home race since Kamui Kobayashi accomplished the feat in 2012.
Losers: Mercedes
Mercedes appeared to have made a breakthrough on Friday at Suzuka, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton describing FP1 as the best session they have had all year with the car in a “sweeter place”.
He qualified seventh, which was his best start of the season, but the Silver Arrows were too slow in the first stint of the Grand Prix, leaving Hamilton and George Russell out of the race for the podium.
Hamilton finished a modest ninth (the first time he has finished outside the top five at Suzuka since 2014), while Russell was just a couple of places higher in seventh.
Winner: Sergio Pérez
The last time Sergio Pérez arrived at Suzuka he was struggling for form. This time, he responded to a disappointing result in Australia with a solid and consistent performance throughout the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
He finished just 0.066s off pole to secure his first top-three start at Suzuka in 12 visits to the circuit and then drove flawlessly to turn that into a podium and give Red Bull its 31st 1-2 finish.
In doing so, he regained second place in the drivers’ championship and sent another signal to Red Bull that they should sign him for next year.
Loser: Daniel Ricciardo
Ricciardo was on the defensive at Suzuka after having to hand over his car to Ayumu Iwasa for FP1 and then not having a meaningful race in the second session due to persistently wet weather.
Even after a tough FP3, he recovered to finish 11th, just a fraction behind Tsunoda, in what was his best start to the season.
Unfortunately, the Australian didn’t get the chance to see what he could do in the race as a collision with Albon ended his Grand Prix after just three corners. He continues the wait for a first point of the season.
Winner: Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz prevailed in a strategic battle with McLaren and his teammate Charles Leclerc to achieve a third podium of the season and maintain his 100% record of always winning a trophy in every race he has competed in this year.
The Spaniard, who was consistently fast in every stint, has already equaled his podium from last season, with 20 races still to go in this campaign.
He occupies fourth place in the drivers’ standings, four points behind Leclerc and just nine behind Pérez, continuing a good run that comes at a time when he is looking to secure his future on the grid next season.
Losers: Kick Sauber
Kick Sauber’s unsuccessful start to 2024 continued in Japan as they failed to score points for the fourth consecutive race.
The team managed four pit stops without any problems (suggesting that they are starting to overcome their problems), but by prioritizing reliability over speed, they were slower than their direct rivals and that cost Valtteri Bottas when a group of five cars stopped in the pits. Same time.
The Finn eventually came home in 14th place, equaling the team’s best finish of the year, while Zhou Guanyu was unable to finish due to a transmission problem.
READ MORE: What the teams said – Race day in Japan
Winner: Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso described his race weekend as “one of the best in a long time” as the double world champion qualified in a superb fifth place with laps he said were at the car’s absolute limit.
It lost a position in the Grand Prix, but overall race pace was stronger than it has been all season, suggesting the update did its job and Aston Martin’s understanding of the car is improving.
Fifth place in qualifying was his best start at Suzuka in 10 years, while his sixth place finish was his best result in Japan since 2013.
Losers: McLaren
McLaren arrived at Suzuka with fond memories of achieving a double podium at the track last year, and pre-event simulations suggested the team would need to excel in the circuit’s high-speed corners to emerge as Red Bull’s closest rivals. .
However, it became clear that they couldn’t beat Ferrari on sheer pace and were instead in a fight with Mercedes and Aston Martin.
Lando Norris finished fifth, 10 seconds further behind Verstappen than last year when he finished second, and his teammate Oscar Piastri eighth.
The positive for the British team is that in 2024 they continued their 100% scoring rate and remain third in the constructors’ championship; However, it is already more than 50 points behind second place, Ferrari.