Max Verstappen led a one-two finish for Red Bull Racing on Sunday at the Japanese Grand Prix, held at the Suzuka Circuit.
Sergio Perez crossed the line some 12 seconds behind his teammate. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished 20 seconds behind the winner to claim third in the race that served as round four of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship.
Following the car troubles Verstappen experienced at the previous round in Australia, the Red Bull driver was back in form throughout the weekend in Japan. He started on the pole position after a strong showing in qualifying and was joined at the front of the grid by Perez.
Verstappen got the better start, but the race was soon red-flagged following a crash between RB's Daniel Ricciardo and Williams' Alex Albon in Turn 3. Both were sent across the gravel and into the barriers at speed, though fortunately there weren't any injuries.
2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix
After a near 30-minute stop, the cars left the pit lane for a standing start. Verstappen and Perez were again at the front, and Verstappen once again got the better start. Drivers started changing their tires by lap 12 due to the particularly high degradation rates at Suzuka. Verstappen went into the pits on lap 17, which briefly put Leclerc in the lead. Verstappen quickly reclaimed the position and then did the same thing with his second stop on lap 35, this time with Sainz temporarily taking the lead.
With 10 laps left, the Bulls took back control. Verstappen pulled to 11 seconds clear of Perez, while the Mexican was almost 10 seconds ahead of Leclerc. Further back, Sainz was on the move.
Thanks to a decision to make his final pit stop later than the other front-runners, Sainz was able to take advantage of fresher tires in the closing laps. This advantage helped him overtake McLaren’s Lando Norris and then Leclerc, who completed one fewer stop on a different strategy. Leclerc went on to claim fourth, with Norris closing out the top five.
Following the weekend's action, Verstappen leads the 2024 Drivers' Championship with 77 points. Perez moved back into second with a total 64 points, and Leclerc dropped down to third with 59 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull leads with 141 points, versus the 120 of Ferrari and 69 of McLaren.
The next race on the calendar is the Chinese Grand Prix in two weeks.
2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix:
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +12.535 seconds
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +20.866 seconds
4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +26.522 seconds
5) Lando Norris, McLaren +29.700 seconds
6) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +44.272 seconds
7) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG +45.951 seconds
8) Oscar Piastri, McLaren +47.525 seconds
9) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +48.626 seconds
10) Yuki Tsunoda, RB +1 lap
11) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +1 laps
12) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1 lap
13) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
14) Valtteri Bottas, Sauber +1 lap
15) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +1 lap
16) Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1 lap
17) Logan Sargeant, Williams +1 lap
NC) Zhou Guanyu, Sauber – DNF
NC) Daniel Ricciardo, RB – DNF
NC) Alexander Albon, Williams – DNF
