Max Verstappen Returns to Dominant Form in Japanese Grand Prix
Max Verstappen showcased his exceptional driving skills at the Japanese Grand Prix, securing his 13th victory of the season and solidifying his position as the top driver in the Power Rankings. Let’s take a closer look at how the rankings work and who else made the cut this week.
How Does it Work?
A panel of five judges evaluate each driver after every Grand Prix, rating their performance out of 10 independently of the machinery. These individual scores are then averaged to determine a race score. Throughout the season, these scores are accumulated to create the overall Power Rankings leaderboard.
Verstappen’s Stellar Performance
After a crash in Singapore, Verstappen proved his mettle with a world-class performance in Japan. He dominated the weekend, starting with an impressive first lap in FP1. His exceptional form continued into qualifying, where he set a sublime final lap in Q3 that no one could match, with half a second separating him from the competition. Verstappen carried this dominance into Sunday’s race, securing another outstanding victory and placing himself one step closer to his third drivers’ title.
Norris Shows Race-Winning Potential
Lando Norris showcased his race-winning potential with a strong second-place finish. While he qualified third behind Verstappen and his teammate Oscar Piastri, Norris demonstrated remarkable skill and determination on race day. He swiftly overtook Piastri and maintained his position behind Verstappen, expertly managing his tires and adapting to challenging conditions. Norris’ performance confirmed his status as a driver with the potential to secure podium finishes consistently.
Piastri Secures First Front Row Start and Podium
In an impressive display, rookie Oscar Piastri achieved his first front row start and secured his first podium finish in Japan. Despite losing his position to Norris early in the race, Piastri displayed great consistency and skill throughout. He comfortably distanced himself from the Ferraris, ensuring his podium position remained secure. It is evident that the young driver is steadily improving and making his mark in Formula 1.
Leclerc Demonstrates True Pace Amid Ferrari’s Struggles
Despite a challenging season for Ferrari, Charles Leclerc has consistently shown his true pace. He finished fourth in Japan, maximizing the performance of his car while acknowledging the team’s limitations. Leclerc qualified an impressive fourth and maintained his position throughout the race, crossing the finish line in the same location. His tenacity and ability were on full display, providing hope for a close fight for P2 in the constructors’ category.
Hamilton’s Resilience in Mercedes’ Struggle
Mercedes may not be performing as well as they would like, but Lewis Hamilton’s resilience remains unwavering. Despite being the fourth-best team in Japan, Hamilton secured a commendable fifth place. He faced several tense moments, including disputes with teammate George Russell. However, Hamilton focused on his performance, retaining his deserved position ahead of Carlos Sainz. He emphasized the need for significant development to close the gap on Red Bull.
Lawson Exhibits AlphaTauri What They’ll Miss
As the AlphaTauri 2024 driver line-up was announced, Liam Lawson demonstrated what the team will be missing with his performance in Japan. Although he narrowly missed out on qualifying for Q3, Lawson’s impressive start moved him squarely into contention for a top 10 position. While lacking the pace for more, a strong push led him to finish in 11th place, leaving a lasting impression.
Ocon’s Impressive Recovery
Esteban Ocon faced a challenging start in Japan, colliding with another driver and being forced into the pits, which led to him starting from the back of the field. However, Ocon exhibited impeccable tire management skills, expertly maneuvering his way through the field. His remarkable recovery resulted in a top 10 finish for the first time since Zandvoort, showcasing his ability to bounce back from adversity.
Gasly’s Solid Performance
Pierre Gasly of Alpine may not have been entirely satisfied with his passing of Ocon for ninth place, but his personal performance over the weekend warrants praise. Despite falling to 14th after starting 12th, Gasly made a strong recovery effort, demonstrating his skill and determination. He nearly chased down Fernando Alonso for eighth place, proving his talent on the track.
Alonso and Russell’s Misfortunes
Fernando Alonso and George Russell narrowly missed out on a top 10 position, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Both drivers scored points for their teams, but with a bit of luck, they could have secured even better finishes. Russell’s decision to opt for the one-stop strategy and Alonso potentially staying on the soft tires longer might have influenced their results.
In Summary
Max Verstappen’s exceptional performance at the Japanese Grand Prix has catapulted him to the top of the Power Rankings, with his 13th victory of the season. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri showcased their race-winning potential, securing second and third place, respectively. Charles Leclerc exhibited his true pace despite Ferrari’s struggles, and Lewis Hamilton demonstrated resilience in Mercedes’ challenges. Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, and George Russell also showcased their skills in a highly competitive race weekend.
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Max Verstappen returned to his exceptional best at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, with the Dutch driver taking his 13th victory of the season. He tops this week’s Power Rankings, but find out below who else joins him in this week’s rankings.
How does it work
• Our panel of five judges evaluates each driver after each Grand Prix and gives them a score out of 10 based on their performance over the weekend, taking machinery out of the equation.
• Our experts’ scores are then averaged to produce a race score; Those scores are then added up throughout the season in our overall Power Rankings leaderboard (at the bottom of the page).
The two-time world champion insisted his and Red Bull’s crash in Singapore was simply a blip and proved he was sincere with a world-class performance, starting from his first lap in FP1.
His form all weekend was out of this world, and that was underlined by his sublime final lap in Q3, with no one coming within half a second of his time. It was business as usual from then on as he dominated on Sunday to take another exceptional victory, putting a hand on his third drivers’ title.
It’s another second place for Norris on Sunday, but with a performance that clearly showed he has the class of a race winner. Norris qualified third on Saturday, behind Verstappen and his teammate Oscar Piastri, but on race day he turned out to be a man on a mission.
He passed Piastri early on, but didn’t have the pace to overtake Verstappen. From then on, it was just a matter of consolidating second place, which he did expertly, showing great pace and managing his tires well in difficult conditions.
That first podium was approaching for the rookie, and it finally came in Japan, where he finished third. But that wasn’t the only thing he did for the first time at Suzuka, as he qualified second, sealing his first front row start for the race.
Unfortunately, he lost to Norris early on and simply didn’t have the pace to keep up with his more experienced teammate. But he made no mistake all weekend, pulling away from the Ferraris to ensure his place on the podium was never in doubt.
ICYMI: Photos of babies, bubbles and lots of buzzing bees: it’s the best social network in Japan
Leclerc’s season has been affected at times by issues beyond his control, so in recent weeks it has been good to see the Monegasque show his true pace, something he did convincingly at Suzuka by finishing fourth.
Ferrari simply did not have the pace to match Verstappen and the McLarens, so Leclerc did everything he could to maximize the performance of his car. He showed off his exceptional ability within a lap to qualify fourth, before impressively crossing the line at the same location on Sunday.
Mercedes may not be where they want to be now, but they are confident Hamilton will achieve the best possible result. The timesheets showed that they were the fourth best team this weekend behind Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, so fifth place is a notable position.
There were some controversial moments that the seven-time champion had to deal with, including some tense moments with teammate George Russell. But he left all that behind to retain a well-deserved fifth place ahead of Carlos Sainz.
It was announced earlier this weekend that AlphaTauri’s driver line-up for the 2024 season will be Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo. So if there was a way for Lawson to show AlphaTauri what they’ll be missing, his performance in Japan was just that.
He narrowly missed out on a place in Q3, but a good start, which he had been craving in recent weeks, put him squarely in the battle for the top 10 positions. While the AlphaTauris simply didn’t have the pace for more, a strong push to 11th place was just what the doctor ordered.
READ MORE: Lawson not ‘satisfied’ beating Tsunoda in Japan after missing out on AlphaTauri 2024 seat
After qualifying 14th, the last thing Ocon would have wanted was a collision at the start that forced him into the pits and threw him to the back of the field. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened, leaving the French driver with a long road to recovery.
But Ocon showed the kind of form he had shown a week earlier in Singapore (at least before retiring), managing his tires expertly, as he quickly worked his way through the field, to finish in the top 10 for the first time since so. Zandvoort.
There are even scores at Alpine, and although Gasly wasn’t happy with passing Ocon for ninth place at the end, he should be more than satisfied with his personal performance over the weekend, as it sealed a double points finish for the team. .
He qualified 12th, but was also forced to make his own recovery effort, having fallen to 14th. And he did just that, driving so well that chasing Fernando Alonso for eighth seemed to be on the cards. Unfortunately that has not happened, but it has not been due to a lack of effort from the French driver.
It may not have been a second victory in a row, but the Spaniard’s form shows no signs of slowing down as he once again had a good weekend. And if a bit of luck had favored him, another top-five finish was on the cards.
He qualified sixth, but a great start saw him in the top five behind Leclerc for much of the afternoon. Unfortunately, Hamilton overtook him after the last stop and, although he did his best to chase him to the end, he didn’t have enough to overtake the Mercedes driver.
The home favorite had an excellent race weekend starting with him being announced as part of AlphaTauri’s 2024 driver line-up, before reaching Q3 for the first time since the Monaco Grand Prix in May.
Unfortunately, he found himself outside the top 10 after the start after qualifying an admirable ninth. From then on it was a struggle to get back into the points as he took the checkered flag in 12th place. An unfortunate result for what was actually a very good start.
getting lost
Two drivers narrowly missed out on a place in the top 10 this week: George Russell and Fernando Alonso. Both drivers scored points for their team, as they finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
But could both drivers have achieved better finishing positions if Russell had opted for the one-stop strategy, or if Alonso had stayed on the soft tire a little longer?
Leaderboard
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