Max Verstappen dominated at Suzuka, giving us a flashback to 2023’s Red Bull supremacy. The Dutchman bounced right back after his mechanical troubles in Australia, showing everyone he wasn’t done yet.
He set a blistering pace in qualifying, grabbing pole position for the third straight time at the Japanese track. Teammate Sergio Perez locked in P2, with Lando Norris about three tenths behind in third.
The race started with drama when Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo crashed on Lap 1, bringing out the red flag.
Verstappen handled both restarts perfectly and never really looked threatened. He did briefly lose the lead when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc stayed out longer on medium tires, but Max quickly reclaimed his spot once he got back on track.
This would be the last Red Bull one-two finish we’ve seen to date, with Verstappen taking the win and Perez securing second place.
Ferrari grabbed the next two spots with Carlos Sainz in third and Leclerc in fourth. Sainz made a late pit stop for hard tires that gave him the pace to overtake both his teammate and Norris in the closing laps.
Norris had to settle for fifth place.
George Russell managed to sneak past Oscar Piastri on the final lap to take seventh, while Lewis Hamilton struggled to ninth after a difficult day.
Local hero Yuki Tsunoda thrilled the Japanese fans by scoring a point with his tenth-place finish. It was the first time a Japanese driver had scored points at Suzuka since Kamui Kobayashi’s podium back in 2012.
Interestingly, Tsunoda is set to make his Red Bull debut at this very track later this year.
The 2024 Japanese Grand Prix ultimately didn’t reveal much about the current F1 landscape. The real turning point of the season would come two races later in Miami, much like in 2023.
