Japan GP: Verstappen returns to winning ways in Red Bull 1-2
Max Verstappen returned to winning ways on Sunday with his third straight pole-to-flag victory in the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix, leading teammate Sergio Perez across the line for a Red Bull 1-2 in Suzuka.
The Dutchman retired for the first time since 2022 in Melbourne, snapping a nine-race winning streak, but had no mechanical issues this week in a dominant performance that took him to three wins from four races this season.
"You know, it was a little hiccup, of course, the last race, but very happy that we are here back on top," said Dutchman Verstappen, who finished 12.535 seconds ahead of his teammate and had the fastest lap.
Verstappen now leads Perez by 13 points in the driver standings, becoming only the second driver in history to win three consecutive Japanese Grands Prix, after seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
Red Bull leads the constructors' standings with 141 points, ahead of Ferrari (120) and McLaren (69).
"I think we have good momentum," said Perez, who overtook Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the driver standings. "I think if we are strong in places like this with a lot of high speed corners ... we can be strong anywhere else."
Ferrari's other driver, Carlos Sainz, who won in Australia two weeks ago, rode fresher tyres in the final stages of the race to finish third, edging out Leclerc, who used a one-stop strategy.
However, the Spaniard was more than 20 seconds behind Verstappen, emphasising the disparity between the teams in the dry, sunny conditions.
Sainz, who will be replaced at Ferrari by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton next season, said after the race he was concerned about how competing strategies with his teammate would play out in the fight for third.
"It was quite tough out there ... I thought that maybe one stop was quicker and we were on the two. I had to overtake a lot of cars out there today," said Sainz.
McLaren's Lando Norris finished fifth, while Mercedes' George Russell and Hamilton finished seventh and ninth, respectively, after a tactical switch to hard tyres early in the race backfired.
Hamilton, who said in qualifying that it was the best he'd felt in the car in years, looked depressed after the race.
"A real challenge today," said the Briton. "Hard tyre was pretty bad and as I said the medium tyre was much better... In hindsight it looks like we should have had two medium tires. But in general the car just was pretty bad."
Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin finished sixth, while Oscar Piastri of McLaren came in eighth.
Yuki Tsunoda of RB finished 10th, scoring points in his home Grand Prix for the first time, much to the delight of the crowd.
"I'm just relieved, that was a very long last two years that I wasn't able to score points here," Tsunoda said. "Without the amount of support today and all the week from the fans and the team, I wouldn't be P10. So top job from everyone."
Alex Albon's Williams and Daniel Ricciardo's RB collided on the first lap, resulting in a red flag and a 30-minute delay while debris was cleared and a barrier repaired. Both drivers were unharmed, and after investigating the incident, the stewards decided to take no action.
The wreck is another headache for Williams, who are still without a spare chassis for the next race in China, as well as Ricciardo, who is under pressure after underperforming his less experienced teammate Tsunoda this season.
SportsLigue