Max Verstappen cruises to Japanese Grand Prix Victory and Red Bull Wins 2023 World Constructors Championship

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka International Racing Course on September 24, 2023 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

SUZUKA, Japan – With Friday’s practice sessions completed and Saturday’s final practice and qualifying rounds in the books, it was time to turn all attention towards the Japanese Grand Prix. Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen had already started the weekend on the right foot, bouncing back after a disappointing Singapore Grand Prix by setting the pace in almost every practice and starting on the pole for the Grand Prix. But McLaren was looking to play spoils as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had looked strong all weekend.

There are not many significant changes to the grid following qualifying. Logan Sargeant, who wrecked out in the first round of qualifying, would be starting on pit lane and has a 10-second penalty following the Williams team using too many parts in the repair due to how much damage was sustained on Sargeant’s car.

Various tire strategies were forecasted for the Grand Prix as Pirelli was expecting high tire degradation due to the nature of the track, with teams expecting a two-stop strategy to be the safest way to go. Once the tire blankets were removed from the cars, a majority of the field decided to start on the Medium compound tires while the AlphaTauri duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, the Alfa Romeo duo of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, and the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg all elected to start on the Soft compound tires to try to make up positions at the start.

The grid soon cleared, and the cars were sent out on track to start their formation lap and begin their wait for the lights to go out. Finally, with the green flag waving, the lights went out, and the Japanese Grand Prix began.

Verstappen got out to hold the lead from Piastri, but in defense of the first McLaren, Norris was able to get alongside the Red Bull and fought for the lead through the first two corners before Verstappen was able to set off to build his lead. Behind them, though, chaos erupted as the field spread out, heading into Turn 1. The Red Bull of Sergio Perez had to move out of the way of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and sent the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton into the grass before getting back on track.

Behind that melee, the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, the Alfa Romeos of Bottas and Guanyu, and the Williams of Alex Albon all got together, sending the Williams slightly airborne and spreading debris across the track. While all four of those drivers (and Perez down pit lane to replace his front wing), the Safety Car (SC) was called onto the course to settle things down after the chaos before Turn 1.

With the debris cleared, the SC returned to the pits on Lap 4, and Verstappen once again set off to build up his lead. Impressive fighting for positions between the AlphaTauris of Lawson and Tsunoda and the tail end of the points while Alonso was trying to take advantage of his Soft tires while trying to get by the Ferraris after he jumped up to sixth on the start.

The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and George Russell started to fight for position, which got close to some heartbreaking moments as both drivers used up as much track as possible in their melee.

Meanwhile, the start of Bottas’ day was about to go from bad to worse as the Williams of Sargeant tried to dive-bomb into the hairpin and got into the Alfa Romeo, ending the day early for the Finn while Sargeant received a 5-second penalty. Meanwhile, the stewards also penalized the Red Bull of Perez following an SC infringement that, on review, saw him passing a car while making his way into the pit lane.

Perez was still trying to work his way through the field and got behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and into the hairpin, doing the same thing Sargeant did to the Alfa Romeo. Perez called back to his Red Bull team, telling them he damaged his wing while also earning another 5-second penalty.

Alonso began the first pit cycle of the day, getting off his Soft tires and swapping towards the Hard compound tires. A Virtual Safety car was called due to the debris scattered around the hairpin, and McLaren called down Piastri to try to gain an advantage of the pit delta down pit lane. This was an advantage that none of his closest competitors could use.

Surprisingly quickly, the VSC was lifted, and the field set off almost immediately once again while the pit cycles continued. Before calling Verstappen down for his first stop, Red Bull called Perez to retire the car following the damage he had sustained throughout the day. Verstappen also went down pit road to make his swap of tires to another set of Medium Compound tires.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 leads Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL60 Mercedes and Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL60 Mercedes going into the first corner at the start of the race during the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka International Racing Course on September 24, 2023 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

McLaren followed a lap later, pitting Norris for his first stop, which saw the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Sainz with Russell staying out. Ferrari pitted their team, while Mercedes elected to keep Russell out in a surprising attempt for a one-stop pit strategy.

Using his fresher Medium tires, Verstappen quickly worked on the Mercedes while McLaren was dealing with Norris, quickly catching up on his teammate Piastri. Instead of risking possible heartbreak with an easy double-podium on the line, the team elected to ensure Norris could get ahead of his teammates and not lose too much time. They set off to try to catch the Mercedes and not worry about fighting him too hard due to the differing strategy choices.

Mercedes finally pitted Russell on lap 25, making his goal to make it to the end of the race. Behind them, following a fall-off after an impressive start, Alonso struggled with pace, making the fantastic start of the year for Aston Martin look like a distant memory as they retired Stroll’s car. Williams soon also retired both of their vehicles, making the Japanese Grand Prix a weekend to forget.

With Verstappen cruising away and his lead increasing every lap, the race was on for the rest of the podium finishes. Mercedes opened up the second pit cycle of the day, calling down Hamilton, with Ferrari immediately calling down Leclerc. Worried about the undercut, McLaren called down Piastri for his second stop of the day. Shortly, Norris went down pit lane, and Verstappen took advantage of having effectively a free pit stop on the next closest driver and pitted without losing the lead.

Verstappen returned to the track ahead of the Ferrari of Sainz, who had lost out on the undercut, and the Mercedes of Russell, trying to make a one-stop strategy work. Sainz soon pitted while the McLarens were charging on Russell.

Surprisingly, Red Bull had Perez back in his car to take advantage of the Formula 1 rulebook. They would unretire the car so Perez could serve his penalty to ensure they wouldn’t receive a grid penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix. Perez returned, boxed for the correction, made another circuit, and again retired the car.

Verstappen continued cruising out in front of the McLaren duo of Norris and Piastri, with the latter in a good position for his first career Grand Prix podium. Meanwhile, as Leclerc was able to get by Russell, a battle ensued between the Mercedes pair and Sainz. Russell attempted to take advantage of the same tactics played on him by Sainz at the Singapore Grand Prix. Still, the Mercedes pit wall had Hamilton and Russell swap positions, gave Sainz a better opportunity to gain a position, and set off trying to get to Hamilton in the final laps.

Finally, much like 12 other times in the 2023 season, Max Verstappen crossed the line for his 13th win of the year and his 48th Grand Prix victory overall. The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri cruised to the finish line to secure a double podium and Piastri’s first-ever podium in a Grand Prix. It has been an impressive turnaround for McLaren after the horrid start of the year.

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates Red Bull Racing’s 2023 Constructors’ Championship victory with his team after the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka International Racing Course on September 24, 2023 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Ferrari and Mercedes filtered into the spots of fourth through seventh, with Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, and George Russell taking the places. The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso salvaged a problematic day to cross the line eight, with the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly salvaged a double points day to round out the Top 10.

The AlphaTauri pair of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda finished just outside the points ahead of the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu and the Haas pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, rounding out the remaining runners. The Williams of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant were joined by the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, and the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas, all retired from the race.

However, it wasn’t just a victor being crowned at Suzuka. Red Bull Racing could easily cruise to their sixth World Constructors Championship, backing up their WCC from 2022. Even with the retirement from Perez, Verstappen’s pace all weekend was more than enough to clinch the title with ease. Now, all focus turns to clinching the World Drivers Championship for Verstappen as fast as possible.

With the Japanese Grand Prix completed, the focus now turns to the Qatar Grand Prix for a Sprint Weekend. Max Verstappen has the opportunity to secure the WDC with just a podium finish in the Sprint race, his third in a row.