Max Verstappen on brink of F1 world title after winning Japanese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix with a commanding drive for Red Bull, sealing the constructors’ title for the team and all but concluding the drivers’ title race as well. The Dutchman won with a flawless drive from pole unchallenged once he had kept his nose in front at the first corner.

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with his first podium, were in second and third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth with Lewis Hamilton in fifth for Mercedes.

Verstappen won from Norris with complete control, in front at the end by 19.4 seconds, his car in a class of its own. It was a performance indicative of how Red Bull have wrapped up the title so soon. His teammate Sergio Pérez, who retired, must now outscore Verstappen by six points in the sprint race in Qatar to prevent him claiming the title next Saturday in Doha. A tall order indeed; that would be the first time the title will have been decided by the short-format event.

Red Bull have secured this year’s constructors’ championship, a remarkable feat after only 16 meetings with six still remaining. It is the team’s second in a row and their sixth since they were formed in 2005. The RB19 has been utterly dominant this season. In 16 races, they have only been denied once, by Carlos Sainz at the last round in Singapore.

Verstappen has led their charge and had Pérez been closer to his teammate on more occasions they might have closed it out yet sooner. The rest of the grid has some way to go to come close to matching Red Bull but this was a title the team thoroughly deserved. They have not only had a mighty car but been all but flawless operationally, calling races with precision to sett the benchmark. With Verstappen putting one steady hand on the title in Japan, a second consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championship double is all but sealed.

The Dutchman now leads Pérez by 177 points and needs to be 172 clear after the sprint race to take the title. Pérez suffered another shocker, taking damage, penalties and clattering into other drivers before retiring, only for the team to send him out late in the race for two laps to enable him to serve a penalty so it was not carried over to the next race. He then re-retired the car.

Verstappen narrowly held his lead through turn one as both Piastri and Norris made superb starts. Norris went round the outside to take second place but Verstappen held the place as they entered Suzuka’s Esses.

After a brief safety car period for debris, racing resumed on lap five with Verstappen holding his lead comfortably. George Russell and Hamilton meanwhile fought one another with no little vim, Russell taking seventh only for Hamilton to claim it back in turn one.

Verstappen however was clear by lap eight with a two-second lead on Norris. The leaders began pitting on lap 14 with Piastri coming in for new hard tyres. Meanwhile a small error by Hamilton allowed Russell to attack him again and they one more went wheel to wheel with Hamilton forcing his teammate wide.

Verstappen made his first stop on lap 15, while Norris had lost time, slowed by Pérez who was about to retire his car under a virtual safety car. Norris pitted on lap 17 but Piastri had made time pitting under the VSC and after the stops shook out he had claimed second from Norris behind Verstappen. Russell meanwhile went long in looking to make it a one-stop, coming in on lap 25.

Norris complained to his team that he was quicker than Piastri and McLaren duly swapped them on lap 27, their fight now clearly with Russell rather than Verstappen, now 13 seconds up and in a race of his own.

The second round of stops began on lap 35 with Piastri once more opening the run, Norris stopped on lap 36 and held his place in second in front of Russell before Verstappen came in on lap 37.

Mercedes’ plan had moved Russell up to third but that meant a long way to make his tyres last and the Englishman was passed by Leclerc on fresher rubber, then swapped by the team with Hamilton and dropped a further place to Sainz. The team debriefing between Hamilton and Russell, who was seventh, will likely be lively.

Way up ahead, the race was long done, Verstappen untouchable out front from Norris and Piastri to single-handedly make sure of the constructors’ title for his team. Sainz finished sixth for Ferrari, Fernando Alonso in eighth for Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly ninth and 10th for Alpine.