Red Bull seal dominant 1-2 as Ricciardo crashes out in Japan

Red Bull well and truly earned their dominant 1-2 finish at Honda’s home race, crossing the line clear of threat while a terminal Lap 1 incident cost Daniel Ricciardo a much-needed chance for points in Japan.

For the first time this season, Red Bull’s dominant qualifying efforts rewarded Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez with a front-row lockout, aiding the Dutchman in his search for a record-equalling third win from pole in Suzuka. 

Ready for the main event, Suzuka turned its weather on with the sun beaming down on the 5.8km circuit.

With an ambient temperature of 22°C and a track temperature of 40.3°C, the heat brewed a predicted two-stop strategy for the teams in Japan, with the favoured tyre choices being the soft and medium compounds.

Eyeing down the five lights, Verstappen set off, leaving his teammate in his tracks as he rounded the first corner. 

The opening jump was short-lived, however, when a first-lap “racing incident” resulted in an early Red Flag.

Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon’s Japanese campaigns came to a premature end at Turn 3 when the duo involved themselves in a racing incident.

The cars of Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon in the tyre barrier after they crashed on the opening lap. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images.

Taking to the grass after attempting a move down the outside of the RB driver, Albon’s ambitious gap closed as Ricciardo focused on the Aston Martin to the left of him.

Slight contact sent the drivers spinning into the tyre barriers at Turn 3, resulting in a lengthy Red Flag delay while the marshals worked on removals and repairs.

Despite their cars sitting crumpled in the destroyed barriers, the #3 and #23 were both ok.

Crashing out of the Japanese Grand Prix is a painful hit to both Ricciardo and the Williams team, with the Australian fighting for his place in the sport and Williams struggling with their production of spare parts across the fly-away races.

With the grid having completed the first sector before the Red Flag was called, the starting order had shifted to see Nico Hulkenberg inheriting a top-ten grid box and Yuki Tsunoda dropping back to P12.

During the pause, many drivers made notable tyre changes, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell the bravest on the hard compound tyres for the upcoming standing start.

Red Bull sent their drivers out on the medium compound, a move Ferrari and McLaren echoed, while Fernando Alonso opted for the quickest compound off the line.

Following the second ‘lights out’ of the afternoon, Verstappen rapidly led the field through Turn 1 for the remaining 50 laps of the Japanese Grand Prix. 

It was a much cleaner start for the now 18-man field, with the order remaining relatively unchanged across the first lap.

Despite this, Esteban Ocon reported of contact between himself and his teammate, questioning if his A524 was ok after the Alpine drivers collided on the start/finish straight.

Max Verstappen leads the restart at the Japanese Grand Prix. Image: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images.

As for Mercedes’ gamble on the hard tyre, both drivers lost positions off the line following a lockup from Russell into Turn 1. 

Hunting down his teammate, Perez understeered mid-corner at Degner 2, kicking up dust and picking up paint as he slipped back into Lando Norris’ reach.

After four laps of racing, both Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas pulled into the pitlane to switch to the hard compound. 

After much trouble in their pitstop past this season, Sauber managed a bittersweet four-second stop for the Fin, releasing him ahead of the Haas. 

Running behind his former teammate, Carlos Sainz noticed Norris struggling with his tyres, however, further back, the other McLaren-Ferrari battle was heating up.

Fighting for P6, Charles Leclerc found himself under five-tenths back on Oscar Piastri on Lap 9. 

The Monegasque driver had a look at the #81 into Turn 1, however, cautiously opted to hold position.

On Lap 12, Norris relinquished his medium tyres in a 2.3-second pitstop, rejoining the race in P10 on the hard compound. 

Piastri followed suit on Lap 13, rejoining in P12.

As for the long-running Mercedes drivers, Hamilton volunteered his position up to his teammate sensing a difference in pace.

Lewis Hamilton leads George Russell during the Japanese GP. Image: Simon Galloway / LAT Images.

The duo continued making their way up the order, with Alonso’s Lap 15 pitstop moving them into P5 and P6. 

Zhou Guanyu was forced to retire his Sauber after being informed of a gearbox issue.

The Chinese driver will hope for a much smoother race in Round 5 when F1 heads to his home country for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Both Perez and Sainz made their first stops of the race, swapping out old for new as they retained the medium compound.

In the process, Norris’ undercut was successful on not only Sainz but Perez too, sending him charging towards the Mercedes duo ahead.

The young Brit made light work of the seven-time world champion, passing him into Turn 1. 

He replicated this move on Lap 18, passing Russell in a similar fashion as he settled into P3.

130R was Perez’s corner of choice for his two overtakes on the Mercedes drivers, remaining on the throttle as he flew through the fast-paced corner. 

At the head of the field, it was Leclerc who found himself leading the race. 

Following Verstappen’s earlier pitstop, the Dutchman rejoined over three seconds behind the #16 Ferrari. 

He instantly cut that gap down, eventually regaining the lead down the main straight.

Max Verstappen comes in for a pitstop during the Japanese GP. Image: Andy Hone / LAT Images.

Sainz in P7 was the next driver to pass a struggling Hamilton on his 18-lap-old tyres, doing so on entry to Spoon. 

The most recent demotion prompted Hamilton to ask his team to change the strategy, with Fernando Alonso rubbing salt in the Brit’s wounds as he relegated him further.

On Lap 24, Hamilton was finally gifted a new set of hard tyres, rejoining in P9.

Running wide through Degner 2, Leclerc lost a position to Perez.

This error fed him into Norris’ grasp, however, the #4 didn’t overtake the Ferrari as he too was called in for a pitstop at the end of Lap 27. 

The duo rejoined the race in P6 and P8, being temporarily split by Russell before Norris called upon his Lap 1 move into Turn 1. 

Piastri locked up through the Turn 16-17 sequence, extending his 18-lap stint in P5 to avoid rejoining behind Hamilton at the backend of the top ten.

By Lap 33, however, Piastri was called in, remaining stationary for 2.4 seconds as he rejoined in P9.

Further up the order, the Red Bulls made their second stop, prompting Ferrari to bring Sainz in on Lap 37.

Sainz was given a fresh set of hard compound tyres, being released into an attacking position on Hamilton.

Carlos Sainz during the Japanese GP. Image: Simon Galloway / LAT Images.

The Spaniard had a look at a pass on the Mercedes driver in Turn 13, holding out until he had the advantage of DRS down the main straight. 

He secured P5, setting off to catch Norris who had just run wide through Degner 2, before eyeing down his teammate.

Yellow flags were temporarily waved in Sector 2 after Logan Sargeant lost his car into Degner 2 after a mistake the American made through Degner 1 threw him off his line.

The Williams driver was able to reverse out of the gravel trap, rejoining in last place. 

Lando Norris locked up into Turn 11 after turning his defensive effort up, setting up the perfect overtaking opportunity for the Spaniard down the main straight. 

Passing his former teammate, Sainz set off for his current teammate who was warned not to waste time fighting the Spaniard in his Battle with the McLaren.

Carlos got the move for the final podium position done into Turn 1, leaving the Monegasque alone in his battle for P4. 

Piastri was trying to make ground on Alonso ahead, running within DRS range for some time now. 

Fernando Alonso leads Oscar Piastri during the Japanese GP. Image: Simon Galloway / LAT Images.

He took too long to pass the veteran, allowing Russell, on fresher tyres, to creep up behind. 

On Lap 50, the battle resulted in slight front-wing contact between the #81 and #63 as they ran side-by-side through Turn 17.

Russell was instantly noted for forcing Piastri off track, with the incident being investigated after the race.

Alonso purposely came back into the mix, giving Piastri DRS to help hold off the Mercedes, however, by the final lap, it wasn’t enough.

The 23-year-old ran wide through Turn 17, allowing Russell to complete the overtake for P7 as they started Lap 53.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez took the chequered flag to take a very deserved 1-2 at Honda’s home race, separated by over 12 seconds. 

Carlos Sainz completed the final podium position, having ended on the podium in every race he’s competed in this season.

Race winner Max Verstappen shares the podium with Sergio Perez Carlos Sainz in Japan. Image: Peter Fox/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

His teammate crossed the line in P4, voted ‘Driver of The Day’ by the fans who commended his valiant drive from P8 to P4. 

Lando Norris wasn’t able to catch Charles Leclerc, settling for a P5 finish after starting in the top three.

Behind him, the battle between Alonso, Russell and Piastri ended as such, with the Mercedes driver still under investigation. 

Lewis Hamilton ended his Japanese Grand Prix campaign in P9, finishing his race on the medium compound tyre.

As for the home hero, Yuki Tsunoda drove a solid race to claim the final points position at his home race.

The Japanese youngster adds one point to RBs points haul of the year, still remaining the sole points-scorer for his team after Ricciardo’s unfortunate Lap 1 racing incident.

The grid will have one weekend off before heading to China from the 19th to the 21st of April for the fifth round of the 2024 season. 

Japanese Grand Prix Results:

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