Flawless Max Verstappen gives Red Bull new constructors’ title with unthreatened victory in Japan | formula 1

The Japanese Grand Prix started chaotically. Max Verstappen did not get away from pole position in a fantastic way, but was able to keep the two McLarens just behind him. In particular, Lando Norris, who started from third place, put a lot of pressure on him, but ultimately came out of the first corner in second place. Behind the battle for the leading position, a lot was happening.

Watch the replay of the start:

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz dived into a tiny hole, causing his teammate Charles Leclerc, Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and the four of them to sit next to each other. It was too narrow for that and the small collision that resulted caused Pérez to have to replace his front wing and fall far back. To make matters worse, the Mexican also received a five-second time penalty because he overtook other drivers while exiting the pit lane during the safety car situation, which is not allowed.

Not much later, Pérez made an even bigger mess of it. In a desperate attempt to overtake Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, he knocked the Dane aside. He received another penalty and had to replace his front wing again, after which he concluded that the car felt bad and he had to abandon the race. Remarkably, the Mexican suddenly came onto the track later in the race. He did this to serve his time penalty and thus prevent him from receiving a grid penalty in the Qatar Grand Prix in two weeks.

Pérez makes a mess again:

In any case, Pérez’s disastrous race meant that, if Red Bull wanted to secure the constructors’ title in Japan, Verstappen had to single-handedly score one point more than the two Mercedes drivers combined. George Russell in particular did his best to thwart that. The Brit tried to earn a podium spot with a one-stop, where almost all drivers on the Suzuka circuit needed at least two pit stops. But on his fast-wearing tires, Russell was easily overtaken by the McLaren drivers who had an excellent weekend.

Far ahead of the McLarens, Verstappen rode alone to his thirteenth victory of the season. The Dutchman was in a class of his own at the Suzuka circuit, in fact he was all weekend. Combined with the fact that he drove the fastest lap of the race, his performance was good enough to finally win the constructors’ title for Red Bull. Russell’s strategy did not work out as Mercedes hoped. He eventually fell back to seventh place, while Hamilton lost fifth place to Sainz in the final stages. The two Mercedes therefore only collected fourteen points.

Despite Pérez’s disappointing performance, it caused a Red Bull party in the country of their engine supplier Honda. The moment Verstappen crossed the finish line, his team’s engineers jumped happily into each other’s arms, fully enjoying their team performance this season. “You have won the constructors’ title for us,” team boss Christian Horner shouted to Verstappen via the on-board radio. The Dutchman credited his team for it. “You deserve this. What an incredible season we are having. Everyone can be proud. Here on the track, but also in the factory. You have built a rocket of a car.”