Max Verstappen bounced back from his retirement in Australia with a commanding drive to victory during the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, taking the chequered flag ahead of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
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Verstappen led the way from start to finish, as the weather conditions were warmer than expected. A variety of tyre strategies and a first-lap accident involving RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and the Williams of Alex Albon all contributed to the proceedings.
It meant a third successive pole-to-victory conversion for the Dutchman at Suzuka while also marking a third win from four races in 2024, boosting his lead in the drivers’ championship after being dented by a brake-related retirement last time out at Albert Park.
Fresh from an improved qualifying display that saw him finish just over half a tenth away from pole, Perez backed up Verstappen to give Red Bull another one-two finish after their perfect results in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to kick off the season.
Australian Grand Prix winner Sainz was the last of the front-runners to make their final pit stop. He benefitted from fresher rubber to clear McLaren’s Lando Norris and teammate Charles Leclerc in the closing laps, the latter having completed one stop fewer on an alternate strategy.
Leclerc kept Norris at bay in fourth and fifth places, respectively, while Fernando Alonso continued to lead Aston Martin’s charge en route to sixth, finishing just in front of the squabbling Mercedes and McLaren machines of George Russell and Oscar Piastri.
Piastri, on ageing hard tyres, and Russell, on newer medium tyres, had come close to colliding towards the end of the race when they went wheel-to-wheel at the final chicane, with the stewards looking into the incident after the Australian argued he was forced off the track.
Lewis Hamilton mirrored Russell’s strategy en route to ninth, having questioned Mercedes’ approach earlier in the race, with home hero Yuki Tsunoda taking the final point on offer for himself and RB as he battled his way to 10th via a series of fine overtakes.
Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg was one of Tsunoda’s victims in 11th, while Lance Stroll was another to make some eye-catching passes – mainly through the Esses – but ultimately went…
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