Verstappen holds off McLaren to earn victory in Suzuka

It may not have been the most thrilling race, but Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s hard-fought victory in the Japanese Grand Prix was no less impressive — overcoming the pace of a faster McLaren to give Honda a fitting farewell.

With dark clouds looming in the background and a damp track setting the scene in the foreground, lights out marked a surprisingly tame start to the Japanese Grand Prix.

Aided by the track conditions on the ‘odd’ side of the grid, Max Verstappen got the better jump of the front-row starters, holding off an aggressively angled Lando Norris into the first turn as the majority of the grid also held position. 

Despite struggling with upshift issues across the opening lap, the Dutchman worked to increase his gap to the charging McLaren duo, eventually putting over two seconds between himself and Norris.

Sitting idle for ten laps, the #4 responded by setting the fastest lap, however, the birthday boy, Oscar Piastri, quickly snatched that title despite complaining of rear tyre degradation.

The Australian had a solid start off the line, launching without threat from the Ferrari behind, however, he did not quite have the instant pace to challenge his teammate or Verstappen for the gold medal. 

Behind the top three, the battle for fourth between Charles Leclerc and George Russell was heating up, however, pitstops brought an end to the potential on-track battle despite Ferrari instructing the #16 to extend his medium tyre stint, with no gaps opening up at the back.

Russell was the first top contender to pull into the pits for a tyre change, with Piastri following suit, however, it was the Australian’s teammate who left the lasting impression as the top three made their first stops on Lap 22.

Thanks to a slower 3.3-second stop from the Red Bull crew, Verstappen came close to losing the lead in the pitlane, however, centimetres allowed him to hold onto that title — a sentiment Norris didn’t echo when he attempted to overtake the Dutchman as they exited the pitlane side-by-side.

That move backfired for the #4 who ended up on the grass, coming close to the barriers as Verstappen defended his actions, saying “he drove himself onto the grass”.

The incident was under investigation, however, the stewards quickly agreed with the Red Bull driver’s view, voting for no further action as the race progressed.  

Earning himself an accolade in the pitstop process, Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver ever to lead a Formula 1 Grand Prix, racing with one of the most experienced drivers on track as he, Hamilton and Isack Hadjar worked to extend their opening stints. 

Running on the hard compound, Hamilton’s C1s had a brief burst of life as Verstappen chased him down on fresher tyres, however, it quickly came to an end when the Ferrari driver locked up at the penultimate corner, surrendering into the pit entry.

Antonelli outlasted the man who previously occupied his race seat, holding his own in P1 before relinquishing the overworked medium compound, and the lead, just minutes later.

Reclaiming the clear air advantage, Verstappen was instructed to pick up the pace as the interval between himself and the McLaren duo fluctuated at around 1.5 seconds, however, the agreed push wasn’t reflecting on the timing sheets, with Norris instead the driver to make gains. 

Piastri soon followed suit, breaking into the DRS range of his teammate with 15 laps to go, sparking yet another debate over the McLaren radio waves regarding team orders. 

Urging Norris to quit his tyre-saving antics or to let him by, the 24-year-old claimed he had the pace to catch Verstappen in the dying stages of a relatively quiet race.

The seven-tenth margin between the papaya cars wasn’t enough to prompt a decision from the McLaren pit wall, with the teammates instead forced to fight for second place as they circulated 1.2 seconds behind Verstappen. 

Turning onto the main straight with just four-tenths separation, Piastri’s best opportunity came thanks to the benefit of DRS, but despite a healthy attempt to pass Norris into the first corner, the Australian couldn’t cement the move and was forced to back off over the course of the final few laps.

With 1.4 seconds in his pocket, the Dutchman crossed the line in first place, claiming a deserved victory in what is his fourth Japanese Grand Prix triumph in a row, and the last of Red Bull and Honda’s relationship. 

Lando Norris just held onto second place, remaining in the lead of the championship by a single point ahead of Verstappen.

On his 24th birthday, Piastri ended the day with the bronze medal as his present, a result that boosts the Australian into third in the Drivers’ standings after the first race of the pending triple-header.

For the second-running Australian on the grid, Jack Doohan had a tough ask starting from the back row of the grid, with Alpine sending its driver out on an opposing tyre strategy as he launched on the soft compound. 

Off the line, Doohan made up one place on the struggling Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto, quickly setting his sights on Esteban Ocon nine-tenths up the road, however, that challenge proved too grand for the Australian prior to his first pitstop.

Doohan retired his soft compound tyres on Lap 15, emerging from the pitlane on the hard compound with Lance Stroll the only driver in his mirrors. 

The early stop brought Doohan back into contention, a welcomed sign for Alpine before the garage was hit with a wave of disappointment, stemming from the #10’s side of the garage when a poor pitstop left Pierre Gasly behind his teammate. 

The Australian wasn’t able to make the most of the surprise opportunity to be the front-running Alpine, instead awaiting the call to swap the drivers which arrived on Lap 33.

With ten laps to go, Doohan found himself circulating over ten seconds behind Gasly, with the late-stoppers hot on his tail.

Carlos Sainz spent little time in the Australian’s mirrors, instead making light work of the #7 down the main-straight to demote Doohan into P15.

Doohan crossed the finish line in said position, well and truly earning his place as he spent the closing laps leading a five-car-strong DRS train.

Gasly ultimately finished the Japanese Grand Prix in P13, around 20 seconds up the road.

Forming part of the final DRS train was Liam Lawson on return with Racing Bulls.

Launching from a suspenseful Row 7 alongside Red Bull replacement Yuki Tsunoda, all eyes were on the duo as they rounded the first turn.

It was a clean start, however, the Kiwi lost out to the RB21 he once called his own, losing DRS almost instantly.

By Lap 9, the RB driver had Carlos Sainz in his mirrors, with the Spaniard tracking seven-tenths behind, with the drivers just two of a few who opted to extend their medium tyre stints through to the latter half of the race. 

Having inherited his way into the top ten, Lawson was given the instruction to box on Lap 34, rejoining in P16 on the soft compound, a strategy Sainz also acted with.

The #55 proved to be a threatening presence in his mirrors for the next two laps, finally getting the jump on Lawson.

Running in P17, Lawson was forced to sit idle as the Williams driver picked off the drivers ahead, leaving him in the heart of a DRS train to complete his first Grand Prix since being demoted from Red Bull. 

As for his replacement, Tsunoda couldn’t quite manage to make it into the points-paying positions, finishing his and Honda’s home race in twelfth place, almost one minute behind his winning teammate.

The field won’t have long to digest the 53 laps that played out this afternoon, with the Bahrain Grand Prix taking place in just seven days as the second race weekend of the triple-header.

The first hour of track action in Sakhir will kick off on Friday, April 11, with FP1 at the Bahrain International Circuit taking place at 21:30 AEDT.

Image: Clive Rose/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Japanese Grand Prix Results:

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