The 2024 Japanese Grand Prix was won by Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen in P1 and Sergio Perez in P2.
The fourth round of the season at Suzuka Circuit started rather dramatically, with a collision in the third corner of the first lap.
Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon were the two unfortunate drivers involved in the incident. The honey badger didn't see the Williams driver getting alongside him ahead of the turn, and he turned into him.
It resulted in the collision; both drivers lost their cars and flew into a barrier in the runoff area. Fortunately, both were okay. However, Willaims will now pray that Albon's chassis didn't suffer any damage.
If Albon's chassis were damaged beyond repair, the team would have to run only one car during the Chinese Grand Prix in two weeks.
Zhou Guanyu had to retire his car on lap 14 due to a gearbox issue, and he probably will regret this issue this time around because Sauber seemed to have a strong pace at Suzuka Circuit.
It was a real mix of strategies due to the fact that many teams saved different tire combinations for the race, and the degradation was even higher than expected.
The only driver who was able to make one stop was Charles Leclerc, but there were also drivers like Lance Stroll, who made three stops in total.
This mix of strategies led to an exciting battle on the final few laps of the race between George Russell, Oscar Piastri, and Fernando Alonso. Alonso held onto his position in P5, while Russell overtook Piastri to finish in P6.
The fourth round of the season was packed with action, but not in the first two positions, which were held by Red Bull Racing drivers. They are back to their dominance with their third one-two result of the season.
Carlos Sainz scored the third podium in his third race of the season, finishing in P3. Notably, home driver Yuki Tsunoda managed to bring home one point for RB, crossing the finish line in P10.
Position | Driver | Team | TIME/RETIRED | PTS |
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:54:23.566 | 26 |
2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +12.535s | 18 |
3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +20.866s | 15 |
4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +26.522s | 12 |
5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +29.700s | 10 |
6 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +44.272s | 8 |
7 | George Russell | Mercedes | +45.951s | 6 |
8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +47.525s | 4 |
9 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +48.626s | 2 |
10 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | +1 lap | 1 |
11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +1 lap | 0 |
12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1 lap | 0 |
13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1 lap | 0 |
14 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | +1 lap | 0 |
15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1 lap | 0 |
16 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1 lap | 0 |
17 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +1 lap | 0 |
NC | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | DNF | 0 |
NC | Daniel Ricciardo | Rb | DNF | 0 |
NC | Alexander Albon | Williams | DNF | 0 |