A third Red Bull 1-2 this season in just 4 rounds! DRC's Formula 1 Japanese GP review.

Red Bulls domination, Ferrari's strong pace and continued struggles for Mercedes. Here's how the 2024 F1 Japanese GP went:

Formula 1 arrived at Suzuka for the 49th Japanese Grand Prix at an unconventional time, compared to recent years when Suzuka typically featured later in the calendar. Despite the unusual timing, the cherry blossoms everywhere were a treat for all.
 A close battle was anticipated, given Sainz’s recent victory in Australia and Red Bull’s dismal performance in the same race. Unfortunately, the outcome didn’t align with the expectations as Red Bull regained their momentum and returned to their winning form, securing their third 1-2 finish of the season. 

Qualifying Report

Max Verstappen continued his streak of pole positions after setting a pole lap time of 1:28.197s. His teammate, Perez, came very close after an insane lap but fell short by 0.066s. Norris was the closest to the Red Bulls as he qualified third, and the last race winner, Carlos Sainz, managed to place his car at P4.

The other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc only managed a meager P8 despite showing brilliant pace in the practice sessions.

“I’m not happy with our qualifying today. The feeling in the car was quite good, but the pace was just not there, so we will look at the data and assess what exactly this was down to.”
 - Charles Leclerc ( post Quali )

Veteran Fernando Alonso continued his great run at Suzuka after grabbing the fifth spot on the grid. In contrast, his teammate Stroll was eliminated in Q1 itself leaving the Aston Martin team with many questions regarding their car’s performance.

The challenging times for the Alpines persisted despite the updates, with Ocon and Gasly commencing the race from the 15th and 17th positions, respectively. Surprisingly, Gasly has yet to qualify for Q2 this year.

The Silver Arrows had a decent pace, resulting in them qualifying P7 and P9 on the grid. Piastri continued his run of consistent performances as he qualified P6. On the other hand, his fellow countryman, Ricciardo, missed out on Q3 and qualified for P11 after being pushed to the elimination zone by his teammate and local boy, Tsunoda.

Race Report 

Verstappen and Perez got off to a great start after keeping Norris at bay, who in turn was under pressure from the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. But the action didn’t continue for long as Ricciardo and Albon crashed during the opening lap, causing a red flag and bringing the action to a standstill. 

Ricciardo commented on the incident post-race,

“After yesterday, where we made some steps in the right direction, I was really excited to come racing today to have a good day. In Turn 2, the tyres settled a little bit, but I still felt like I was sliding and then saw an Aston on the outside of me. I was watching him but when I was preparing to enter Turn 3, without using all the track as it was the first lap, Albon got alongside me and had a better exit from Turn 2. I didn’t see him and we touched.”

The incident provided all the other drivers with an opportunity to grab a free pit stop.

Everybody in the Top 5 followed a similar tyre strategy by starting on the Medium compound. Alonso took a brave call by switching to Softs whereas the Mercedes drivers started on Hards.

Zhou retired a few laps later, citing a gearbox issue.

Norris was one of the earlier cars to pit in the race to undercut the Ferraris, but huge tyre degradation saw him falling behind. In the end, he managed to bring home P5 for the team. Meanwhile, his teammate wasn’t able to do anything significant as he spent the majority of the race behind the car of Alonso and ultimately got overtaken by Russell during the final laps of the race, resulting in an 8th-place finish for him.  

Piastri reflected on the race and said,
“It was a difficult afternoon. Things didn’t quite click into place and we weren't fighting for the positions we wanted to. However, it's four points finishes on the bounce this year and there’s plenty to take away.” 

The Ferraris were the second-best team on the race day. Although Leclerc started 8th on the grid, he managed his tires beautifully, having stopped only once after the red flag, and led an amazing drive to P4. Sainz also demonstrated an impressive pace, securing himself a spot on the final podium step. 

The Silver Arrows scored a handful of points as George and Lewis finished P7 and P9, respectively. They seemed to be looking for a one-stopper in the race, but neither car had the race pace to match the rest of the grid which eventually caused them to switch to a two-stop strategy. Interestingly, Lewis conceded his track position to Russell in the race claiming that George was much faster and had a better shot at chasing the guys ahead.

Fernando Alonso continued to impress the fans with his consistent performances for the British team. Starting at P5, he managed to keep the pursuing Mclaren of Oscar Piastri at bay for most of the race. During the final moments, George Russell was closing in on Alonso and Piastri,  but Alonso strategically kept Piastri in the DRS zone to defend against the oncoming Mercedes. In the end, he managed to finish P6. 

Lance Stroll's Aston Martin battled with the mid-field pack; he nearly cracked the top 10 but fell short, settling for P12 after being overtaken by Haas of Nico Hulkenberg. 

The local Japanese, Yuki Tsunoda, kept his starting position in the race result and also won a solitary point after finishing 10th at his home Grand Prix.

Ecstatic after the race, he commented,
 “A big thank you to everyone at Honda, Red Bull, and Visa Cash App RB who have been involved and supported me throughout my journey. I don’t feel like I scored P10 today but P1 – it’s a great feeling.”

Verstappen and Red Bull returned to their original winning ways. He established a solid lead on both occasions with a strong start, distancing himself from the rest of the field. Although Perez had to grind a bit after being undercut by Norris for P2, once he did reclaim his position he continued to drift away from the rest and gained a comfortable lead.

Team Standings - After the Japanese GP

Teams will go racing again in Shanghai in two weeks as the Chinese Grand Prix returns to the Formula 1 calendar after a break of five years and 104 races.