Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took his four consecutive Japanese Grand Prix victory on Sunday.
The Dutch driver started the race from pole and completely dominated the race giving Honda the best send off as they prepare to end their relationship with Red Bull at the end of the season.
Speaking following the race, Verstappen said:
We couldn’t have wished for a better result today in our final race with Honda here together. It’s been amazing and I’m really proud of what we have done this weekend. We made all of the right calls during the race, were constantly pushing and our tyres weren’t overheating so much due to the colder tyre temperature which helped us. Yesterday was a beautiful day for us and the key to the win was to start from pole. We maximised everything we could and to follow this up with the win is fantastic. We know our limitations and still have work to do. We are just finding where we can push the car to the limit and need to maximise everything that we can to get the best out of the car and make it more balanced. Finally, this is a perfect send off for Honda and our relationship is something I will never forget. I’ve enjoyed my time with them and how they work: they are so professional and dedicated and they have given me so much. Together to win four Drivers’ Championships and two Constructors’ Championships is unbelievable. It did cross my mind whilst driving that it would be insane to win here today and at a home track for Honda, so that gave me a bit of motivation as well. It’s a proper send off and we couldn’t have wished for a better weekend.”
McLaren Racing’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had a tough race despite a double podium for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Speaking following the race, Norris said:
“A tough race today, it was flat-out from start to finish but the pace was too similar to do anything. Max drove a good race with no mistakes, and it ultimately came down to Qualifying positions today. It’s still been a very good weekend for the team securing more points together, but we will continue to work hard as we head to the next one in Bahrain.
Oscar Piastri came home in third place which is where he started. Speaking following the race he said:
“A good haul of points and a nice result for the team. I think the pace today was really good and I was very happy with that. We got close for the overtake a few times, but track position around here is just so important. I think yesterday was the day where you effectively won the race, and we just didn’t put it all together, so I’ll absolutely take the podium. We go to Bahrain with a lot of positives, and ready to challenge again.”
Charles Leclerc was fourth for Scuderia Ferrari HP just ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton was seventh in the second Ferrari.
Isaak Hadjar had a great race for Racing Bulls as he came home in eighth place.
Speaking following the race he said:
That was a long and exhausting race, but we did the maximum we could have done today, and honestly, I feel like we executed a perfect race, so a very well done to the team. Achieving P8 was our target today as Lewis was out of reach. We put it all together maximizing our performance, and therefore we’ve been able to achieve this result on merit, without benefitting from any issues of the others. I couldn’t be happier to be rewarded with my first points in F1 here in Suzuka after a weekend like that. I felt comfortable in the car and I think it suited me very well. Today there was almost no degradation on track, so I was flat out all time and I didn’t really leave anything on the table. Now we look at racing in Bahrain next week, and it gives us confidence as I think we can be up there too.
Alex Albon wss ninth just ahead of Oliver Bearman who rounded out the top ten.
Fernando Alonso was 11th just ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly while Carlos Sainz was 14th.
Jack Doohan was 15th just ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson.
Esteban Ocon was 18th just ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto while Lance Stroll rounded out the order in 20th.