The celebrations for Honda's 75th anniversary were carried out to the letter in Suzuka, where Max Verstappen added his thirteenth victory of the year and Red Bull secured the Constructors' World Championship. The sixth in its history, the second in a row, a simple prelude to what awaits with Mad Max, already 177 points ahead in the table. With Singapore's doubts gone, the next champion did and undid as he pleased against McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, resigned to sharing the other two places on the podium. Just two decades later, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri repeated a double success for the Woking team in the Japanese GP, while Carlos Sainz, sixth and Fernando Alonso, eighth, fought without luck.
Verstappen was able to win with the difference he would have liked, although he crossed the checkered flag with 19 seconds ahead of Norris. Without losing sight of the bonus of the fastest lap (1:34.183), he only missed the honor of the grand chelem after giving up the lead during two of his stops in the pits.. Today he has 400 points and manages the greatest distance from second in the history of F1. His overwhelming supremacy is even more accentuated in contrast with Sergio Pérez, protagonist of a disastrous career.. Despite the Mexican, Red Bull must toast in a big way for this sixth crown, one for Lotus and two for McLaren and Mercedes.
At 16, still untouchable, Ferrari remains, although a lot of work will have to be done in Maranello to, at least, consider another title.. Because just seven days after the victory in Marina Bay, Fred Vasseur's engineers made a mistake again with Sainz. Alonso, for his part, complained about the same thing at Aston Martin. However, the truth is that after riding for too long in the slipstream of Esteban Ocon, he only left Alpine behind thanks to the undercut posed by his wall. With too much temperature in the rear tires and little top speed on the straights, Fernando could do little else.
Sunday had started on the right foot for the two-time world champion. While the top eight on the grid opted for the medium compound, while Alonso preferred the soft ones. And that choice produced immediate returns.. At the start, Sainz blocked Pérez, who in turn would send Lewis Hamilton to the grass. The Asturian emerged victorious from the altercations, who even had the luxury of overtaking Pérez to gain four positions and place sixth.. Behind, the collision between Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon led to a brief safety car period.
Internal tension in Mercedes
Before the first corner, Verstappen had had to defend himself from a very aggressive Piastri, although after the slowdown, his RB19 imposed an unapproachable pace for the McLarens.. Sainz, in the slipstream of Leclerc, contained Alonso and the Mercedes, while Pérez, forced to change the front wing, had fallen into the pit and was being investigated for violating the pit exit procedure.. There was no reason to get bored and even George Russell wanted to challenge Hamilton in the chicane. On lap 16, Toto Wolff was startled when his drivers were involved in another mess at Spoon, with the seven-time champion's illegal defense.
On lap 12, Alonso completed his first pit-stop (2.9 seconds) to ride the hard. From that moment on, the power of the undercut would be evident, with which even Piastri recovered a good bite against the leader.. Even Fernando himself had gained the position over Leclerc, because Ferrari left the Monegasque on the track too much time.. However, the Aston Martin's lack of performance would soon become apparent to Sainz, in Spoon, and Hamilton, who had the pleasure of a spectacular overtake inside the legendary 130R.. Two minutes before Lance Stroll retired, disappointment thundered over the radio: “You have thrown me to the lions for stopping so soon.”. Incredible”.
Pérez's calamitous Sunday was going to be crowned with another touch against Kevin Magnussen, which brought two consequences: a period of virtual safety car and endless repairs in the Mexican garage. At the halfway point of the race, five cars had said enough. Or so it seemed, because a quarter of an hour later Pérez returned to the asphalt with 26 laps lost.. Fortunately, common sense finally prevailed and Christian Horner retired his car..
Ahead, Verstappen minimized risks and chose not to get angry. Meanwhile, on the McLaren wall they tried to calm their boys, because Norris was desperate in front of Piastri: “He's ruining my race”. When the rookie agreed to the team orders, Lando had almost 20 seconds on Russell, whom he viewed as a potential threat for the podium.. At Ferrari, on the other hand, the minutes passed without a clear idea. Perhaps a more aggressive strategy would have been better than that blurry letting go.
On lap 37, after the second stop and rejoining seventh, seven seconds behind Hamilton, Sainz made a comment that almost sounded sarcasm: “I guess they undercut us.”. Unlike last Sunday in Singapore, Mercedes lacked steam during the final stint. Leclerc got rid of Russell to be fourth, just over six seconds off the podium, and Carlos did the same with Hamilton to finish sixth.