Verstappen dominated the Japanese VC with another flawless performance. Sainz scored another podium in Suzuka. Cunoda did not disappoint the home fans

For the Europeans, the Japanese VC was on the agenda in the early hours of Sunday morning. After a short break, Max Verstappen returned to the top step of the podium. Red Bull co-driver Sergio Pérez had to settle for second place again. Carlos Sainz, who will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton after the season at Ferrari, continues his excellent performance. The Spanish driver has finished on the podium in every race he has taken part in this year.

The tight corners of Suzuka took their toll on the first lap. Heading into turn three, Ricciardo probably failed to spot Albon on his right, pushed him off the track and hit the Williams driver’s front wheel with his rear tyre. Both drivers ended up in the barrier, the repair of which necessitated the display of red flags.

The first start only shuffled the order at the bottom of the field. A bad start dropped Cunoda down to 12th. Nico Hülkenberg replaced him in the last points position.

The race restarted after a half-hour break. But the second start didn’t shake up the standings significantly either. Only the two Mercedes, starting on the hardest compound, lost one place. Russell managed to take ninth place back from Cundae, who had a great second start. Hamilton had no answer to Leclerc’s attack.

The battle at the front of the field turned into a tactical battle

Norris got rid of his tyres unexpectedly early and leapfrogged Perez, who headed to the pits four laps later. The top ten drivers had more than three seconds between them for most of the race, so the battles between the slower cars on old tyres and the monoblocs with new footwear offered the fans some much-needed action.

Leclerc was the only one to make do with a pit stop. He went from eighth place at the start to fourth. Although he still hasn’t beaten Sainz in a race this year, he will leave Japan happy with his performance.

Russell and Piastri had a thrilling duel for seventh place until the very end. The British driver took two extra points for himself on the last lap. Lewis Hamilton’s second Mercedes crossed the line ninth. The team from Brackley takes the same number of points from Suzuka as Aston Martin, and thus holds fourth place in the Constructors’ Cup.

After a disappointing weekend in Australia, Red Bull is back on top. Verstappen again gave no one a chance to attack and won by over 10 seconds. Pérez took second place for the third time this year. In all races this year, the winning team has finished first and second.

Júki Cunoda made the home fans very happy. Breathtaking manoeuvres in the aces corners, together with a perfect pit stop that gave him two positions, helped the young Japanese to 10th place.

In two weeks’ time, Formula 1 will move to Shanghai, where the Chinese GP will take place for the first time since 2019. The Shanghai international circuit is one of a small number of circuits where Max Verstappen has raced but has not yet won. The Dutch racer’s best finish here was third, but this year he arrives as the clear favourite.

Source: F1TV