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Triple world champion Max Verstappen romped to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, leading team-mate Sergio Perez to a dominant one-two finish for Red Bull.
Verstappen failed to finish in Australia a fortnight ago but he was in control for the entire race at Suzuka after starting from pole and claimed his third win from four grands prix this season.
The Dutchman finished 12.535sec ahead of the Mexican Perez, who came home in front of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in dry, sunny conditions.
Verstappen said "the critical bit was the start, to stay ahead".
"After that, the car just got better and better," he said.
"Everything just went very well. It couldn't have been any better."
Back to winning ways ?? @Max33Verstappen ??#F1 || #JapaneseGP ???? pic.twitter.com/VGKl2FpBx6
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 7, 2024
Sainz, who triumphed in Australia, took third ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who started from eighth on the grid.
McLaren's Lando Norris, second in last year's race, was fifth ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.
Mercedes' George Russell edged out McLaren's Oscar Piastri for seventh, while Lewis Hamilton was ninth in the other Mercedes.
Verstappen was starting from pole for the fourth time in as many races this season and stamped his authority on the race from the off, leading Perez to the first turn.
He said this week that Suzuka was one of his favourite circuits and he has now won the Japanese Grand Prix three times in a row.
He was back to his breathtaking best after a brake issue in Melbourne saw him retire from a race for the first time in two years.
"It was a little hiccup the last race but I'm very happy that we're back on top," said Verstappen, who has taken an early stranglehold on the world championship.
Perez, who failed to finish at Suzuka last year, picked up his third runner-up finish of the season.
"I think we have a good momentum," he said.
"Last year here was probably my worst weekend, so I think if we are strong here I think we can be strong anywhere else.
"It's been a good weekend."
Japan's Yuki Tsunoda was 10th for RB, scoring points at his home grand prix for the first time.
Suzuka, your top ten! ??MAX points for Red Bull, a brilliant strategic battle between Ferrari, Merc, McLaren and Aston......and Yuki sends the fans home happy ??#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/4o6rJQug3t
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 7, 2024
The race was red-flagged on the second lap after RB's Daniel Ricciardo and Williams' Alex Albon collided and crashed after a frenetic start.
Albon's front wing clipped into the rear of Ricciardo's car as they jockeyed for position, and both slammed into the wall before getting out unscathed.
Both drivers retired from the race.
The action resumed from a standing start and Verstappen picked up from where he left off ahead of Perez.
Leclerc took over the lead after Verstappen pitted on his 17th lap, but the Red Bull driver was back in front four laps later.
Verstappen and Perez both consolidated their positions, leaving Norris fighting for third against the two Ferraris.
A late lock-up cost the McLaren driver his chance of a podium finish.
Sauber's Zhou Guanyu retired with a gearbox issue on his 19th lap.
Williams' Logan Sargeant skidded off the track to a standstill late in the race but resumed driving.
The championship resumes in a fortnight's time with the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.
It will be the first time the event has been held since 2019, before it was curtailed by the pandemic.
The Japanese Grand Prix was being held in April after being shifted forward from its usual late-season slot.
07 April 09:04
Max Verstappen wins Japanese GP!
Triple world champion Max Verstappen got back to winning ways at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, leading team-mate Sergio Perez to a dominant one-two finish for Red Bull.
Verstappen, who failed to complete the race in Australia a fortnight ago, claimed his third win from four grands prix this season ahead of Perez and third-placed Carlos Sainz of Ferrari.
07 April 09:00
CLINICAL!
It's three in a row at Suzuka! Max Verstappen cruises to victory and wins the Japanese Grand Prix from pole, Sergio Perez makes it one-two for Red Bull.
07 April 08:56
Lap 50/53: Verstappen extends his lead over 13 seconds from Perez.
Sainz now on track for a 20th career podium, while home favourite Tsunoda remains in tenth place.
It's a three-car fight now for sixth between Alonso, Piastri and Russell.
07 April 08:44
Lap 42/53:
A brief yellow flag is raised as Sargeant has gone off the track but the American reverses and has now fallen to the bottom of the race standings.
Verstappen leads Perez with what is now over a nine second gap. Leclerc is holding onto that podium spot, but he is keeping an eye on team-mate Sainz behind him.
07 April 08:38
07 April 08:26
07 April 08:20
07 April 08:11
Lap 23/53: Verstappen's fresh tyres prove too much for Leclerc and he blows past him to re-take the lead.
Norris and Perez are in a fierce battle for third. Sainz is fifth ahead of Alonso, as Russell pits from P7.
07 April 08:07
LAP 19/53: Three cars gone!
Along with Ricciardo and Albon, who crashed on the first lap, this race has lost Zhou Guanyu with a gearbox issue.
07 April 08:02
Leclerc leads the Japanese Grand Prix!
Verstappen comes in from the lead. He swaps to more mediums, and comes out in second behind Leclerc.
Leclerc has yet to pit, and he leads the race by 3.6s from Verstappen.
07 April 07:53
LAP 13/53: Norris pits from third and loses his position to 10th.
Verstappen leads, followed by Perez, Sainz, Alonso and Leclerc behind him.
07 April 07:46
Lap 7/53: Its now more than two seconds between Verstappen and Perez. Norris is 1.7s behind Perez at the moment, and leads Sainz by 1.2s.
Bottas and Tsunoda has also pitted now...
07 April 07:38
Verstappen keeps ahead!
The front four hold station again. Hamilton has lost out to Leclerc, but Tsunoda has had the best start - he's gone up to ninth from P12.
07 April 07:32
Re-start is a go!
The drivers are all back in their cars and will trundle out behind the Safety Car round to the grid for that second standing start.
07 April 07:23
Riccardo and Albon cars have been cleared away, the race will resume in less than 10 minutes.
The teams can change their tyres in a red flag stoppage, but with only completed one lap, it is very early to swap things around...
Confirmed re-start order: Verstappan, Perez, Norris, Sainz, Alonso, Piastri, Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Tsunoda, Ocon, Gasly, Stroll, Magnussen, Sargeant, and Zhou.
07 April 07:09
CRASH!
An early safety car has been called in the second turn of the race! Red flag is waved...
Oh dear! It's Daniel Riccardo and Alexander Albon, who have crashed against each other. Both drivers are okay. Albon looks to driven into the back of Riccardo.
07 April 07:03
07 April 06:59
06 April 09:17
MAX ON POLE, BUT CHECO RUNS HIM CLOSE
Triple world champion Max Verstappen grabbed pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, edging out Sergio Perez in qualifying for a Red Bull one-two.
Verstappen, who failed to finish the race in Australia a fortnight ago, clocked a fastest lap of 1min 28.197sec in dry conditions at Suzuka - just 0.066sec ahead of the Mexican.
It was the fourth time the Dutchman has claimed pole in as many races this season.
"It was quite close at the end," said Verstappen.
"Overall, this track is very sensitive. When you really want to go to the limit, it doesn't always work out."
McLaren's Lando Norris was third, 0.292sec behind Verstappen.
Perez was in third place heading towards the end of a gripping qualifying session but he almost snatched pole from his teammate in the dying seconds.
"I think we went really close all the way through," said Perez.
"When you are in those little margins, anything can make a difference."
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who won in Melbourne, was fourth.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fifth ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished eighth ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and RB's Yuki Tsunoda.
Verstappen won the first two grands prix of the season but he retired in Melbourne with a brake issue, marking the first time he had failed to finish a race in two years.
He has looked back to his formidable best so far at Suzuka, topping the time sheets in the first and third practice sessions while sitting out the second because of bad weather.
He followed that up with another dominant performance in qualifying, claiming pole at the Japanese Grand Prix for a third straight year.
"It's great as a team to be one and two, and hopefully we can keep that going tomorrow," said Verstappen, who went on to win from pole last year.
Japan's Tsunoda made it to Q3 with a last-gasp charge, edging out RB team-mate Daniel Ricciardo as well as Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon.
Stewards were set to investigate an early incident where Russell was released into Piastri's path in the pit lane.
"Very dangerous from Russell," Piastri said over team radio.
Alpine's Pierre Gasly was eliminated in Q1 for the fourth time this season.
Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu also fell at the first hurdle.
The main race at Suzuka starts at 7:00 SA time.
- AFP
06 April 09:06
MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE!
Four from four for the flying Dutchman in the 2024 season. He starts in P1 at Suzuka tomorrow with 1m 28.197s. Perez, who ran him close in the end, takes second, 0.066s off the pace.
Norris is third with the winner in Australia, Carlos Sainz also in the second row
"Not bad," says that cheeky Verstappen.
06 April 09:01
TWO MINUTES...
As stands, Max Verstappen is set for a fourth consecutive pole going into the main race.
Leclerc finishes seventh so won't be near the front row seats come race day. But then again, can anyone get close to Verstappen? Perez flies in as he tries, but stays in second, half-a-tenth back. Just.
06 April 08:56
PROVISIONAL POLE?
With nine minutes to go, Hamilton hits his stride and gets the better of teammate George Russell by going two tenths quicker. Meanwhile, on another planet, Verstappen sets a 1m 28.240s and Perez struggles to stay in touch three-and-a-half tenths behind.
06 April 08:51
The top 10 shootout in Q3:
We've been here before as Red Bulls dice for pole position. Both have two sets of softs in the bank for Q3, with Tsunoda and Leclerc the exception here in the field. Alonso has managed to sneak through an extra set of softs for tomorrow's race too.
It's no excuses time as we go into the decider for the starting grid tomorrow.
06 April 08:45
CHEQUERED FLAG!
Eliminated in Q2:
11th - Ricciardo
12th - Hulkenberg
13th - Bottas
14th - Albon
15th - Ocon
06 April 08:40
HAMILTON'S OFF
With three minutes to go, Hamilton comes out first, followed by his teammate. Hulkenberg, who has to go again, is next in line, ahead of Ocon, Ricciardo, Albon and Tsunoda. They all need a time.
The Red Bulls are sitting pretty with their times.
07 Apr