Max Verstappen Claims Victory in Suzuka
By Jamie Lee
With the cherry blossoms in full bloom, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen claimed victory at the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix. Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez took second place while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz claimed third.
The race had an eventful start after Williams Racing’s Alex Albon and Visa Cash App RB’s Daniel Ricciardo came together on the first lap, causing a collision. The crash brought out a red flag which halted the race for nearly 30 minutes.
Once the race resumed, it was a battle of strategies between the ten teams on the grid. However, it was Red Bull Racing that remained on top.
Verstappen retained the lead on and off throughout the Grand Prix. The only times he lost the lead were when he pitted for fresh tires. This is Verstappen’s third win of the 2024 season.
After the race, Verstappen said, “Today was simply lovely and I really enjoyed the race. We stayed out of trouble in the first lap and from there, we tried to look after the tyres as much as possible…The car just got better throughout the race and, although it took a few laps before I got a nice rhythm as we didn’t have many practices on the long runs, on the second stint the car really came alive.”
Sergio Perez started the race second and managed to maintain that position with a few brilliant overtakes. Much like his teammate, Perez remained largely unchallenged by the other drivers throughout the race. After struggling last season, this result was a welcome one for the Red Bull driver.
“We are in a good place and performing at a very nice level, we just need to keep progressing,” Perez commented after the race. “My confidence is coming back and the momentum should be with me for the coming races, if I am able to have such a consistent weekend in Suzuka it can only be positive moving forward.”
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari did not look particularly strong at the beginning of the race, but everything seemed to click towards the end. The Ferrari driver made a handful of crafty passes before overtaking his teammate, Charles Leclerc, to claim third place. The only time Sainz has not been on the podium in the 2024 season was when he missed a race due to appendicitis.
In a post-race interview, Sainz said, “A strong couple of starts kept me in a good position and from there onwards we managed it perfectly with very strong pace on both compounds and good overtakes to make the strategy work. We obviously want to fight a bit further up, but if we keep pushing like this, I’m sure we will have more opportunities.”
Even though Red Bull Racing was in a league of their own, the rest of the field was full of battles.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was in damage control mode after starting the race eighth. Despite this Leclerc powered on by managing his tires and overtaking cars early which put him in fourth by the end.
McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded out the top five after qualifying third. The team was hoping for a stronger showing but neither of their drivers was able to match Ferrari’s pace. Norris’s teammate, Oscar Piastri, finished eighth.
The next race will take place on April 21 in China.
Full race results can be found here.