After a lightning crash the competition had on the opening lap Max Verstappen his leadership in the Formula 1 World Championship with a sovereign Victory at Suzuka expanded. Unimpressed by internal team power struggles and transfer rumors, the Red Bull star sat down for the third year in a row Japanese Grand Prix and races almost inexorably towards his fourth world title early in the season.
Two weeks after his retirement in Australia, Verstappen was once again in his own league on Sunday and relegated his teammate Sergio Perez in second placeFerrari driver and Melbourne winner came third Carlos Sainz.
After four of 24 World Cup races, Verstappen now has 77 points, followed by the Mexican Perez (64) ahead of the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (59) in the second Ferrari. In front of 102,000 spectators, Verstappen confidently defended his first starting position before the race was interrupted on the first lap.
Hard crash for Ricciardo and Albon
Daniel Ricciardo from Visa RB and Williams driver Alex Albon After less than a minute of racing, they touched each other in the hustle and bustle and crashed into the track barrier. The pilots got out uninjured until the scene of the accident was cleared, but it was a good half hour before the restart.
Even in the second attempt, Verstappen could not be overtaken at the top. Verstappen has had turbulent weeks. A power struggle is raging in his racing team Team boss Christian Horner at the center of an explosive affair that also involves allegations of inappropriate behavior by an employee.
Verstappen himself is considered the preferred candidate at Rivale Mercedes. The Silver Arrows want him despite a contract that runs until 2028 Successor to Lewis Hamilton sign, who will go to Ferrari in 2025. Verstappen and the team assured that he would stay with Red Bull beyond the end of the year, but only the next few months will show what these words are really worth.
Red Bull was in a league of its own
In terms of sport, the defending champion has hardly any reason to change; in Japan he controlled the action in his superior car the entire weekend. Behind them, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes were fighting for places. The Silver Arrows complained about high tire wear early on before Hamilton left his stable rival on orders from the team management George Russell had to let pass.
The Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Leclerc stayed behind the leading duo and wanted to put pressure on them. Two weeks ago in Melbourne, Sainz took advantage of Verstappen’s failure to score his first win of the season. On the 17th of 53 laps, Verstappen got new tires, Leclerc took the lead, but had to give it back quickly.
The leader’s lead quickly grew again because Leclerc briefly went off the track on lap 26 and then also got new tires. Although the Ferraris left a strong impression, they were unable to pose a threat to Verstappen over the entire race distance. Even after the second pit stop, the Dominator remained in the lead and again pulled away quite playfully.