The ogre Verstappen is back. We must hope that Carlos Sainz, winner of the Australian GP two weeks ago and third this Sunday at Suzuka, took advantage of his victory in Australia, because when he does not give up, the three-time world champion is all simply unplayable. Starting from pole, the Dutchman dominated a Japanese GP marked in particular by a red flag displayed on the first lap following an accident at turn 3 between Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls) and Alex Albon (Williams).
The three-time world champion only ceded command of the race temporarily, when he made his two pit stops to change his tires, and was in no way impressed during the two starts which took place this Sunday . The Championship leader claimed his third success in 2024 and a 57th career victory. The Dutch driver crossed the finish line 12 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Perez.
The Mexican, author of an erratic race last October on the Japanese circuit, was very solid this time. He did not have the same margin as Verstappen and had to fight a little harder against the Ferraris, but this second place allows him to regain second place in the Drivers’ Championship, with 64 points, 13 lengths behind his teammate.
Ferrari establishes itself as the second force on the field
Not necessarily very efficient on a lap during qualifying on Saturday, the Maranello car nevertheless showed that the most important thing in a weekend was Sunday. The red single-seater controls the degradation of its tires well and is very consistent in its long stints in the race. This of course benefited Carlos Sainz, who signed his third podium of the season, but above all Charles Leclerc, who went from 8th to 4th place thanks to a different strategy from his competitors.
The Monegasque driver completed a long and solid first stint on his set of medium tires before switching to hard tires at the end of the race. He could not resist Carlos Sainz on the last loops but he was able to hold off Lando Norris (McLaren) without too much difficulty. He may regret the bad strategic move made by his team, which made him enter the pits at the same time as Leclerc to observe his second stop when the Monegasque was making his only refueling.
Ricciardo under pressure
The highlight of the race was the red flag caused just seconds after the lights went out. At the start of the third turn, Daniel Ricciardo, author of a bad start, squeezed Alex Albon on his right. The contact between the two cars sent the Racing Bulls of the lively Australian into a spin, which ended up in the tire wall. Same fate for Albon, who became a simple passenger in his car when it found itself sliding in the grass.
For Ricciardo, this incident adds to a completely failed start to the season. The ex-Renault and McLaren driver, clearly dominated by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda (10th and in the points this Sunday) in 2024, made an error which risks not helping his case. In China, the Australian will have a new chassis to remove doubts about his level of performance since the start of the season. But the pressure inevitably increases on his shoulders after this inglorious episode.
Ocon and Gasly touch during the second start
At Alpine, the improvements made and the weight loss treatment imposed on the A524 chassis fundamentally did not allow progress in the hierarchy. The two French drivers were offensive during the two starts, where they gained numerous places, but they also touched each other during the second. Closed by Tsunoda on his right, Gasly found himself sandwiched and the left sidepod of his car came into contact with Ocon’s right front wheel.
Small hit but big consequence since Gasly estimated the damage at 30 points of aerodynamic support lost and around eight tenths per lap. By completing this Japanese round in 15th and 16th places this Sunday, Alpine only owed a driving error from Logan Sargeant (Williams) at the end of the race to not bring up the rear.
