Verstappen returns to winning ways to lead Red Bull 1-2 in Japan

Suzuka - World champion Max Verstappen got back to winning ways on Sunday with a third straight pole-to-flag victory at the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix, leading teammate Sergio Perez across the line for a Red Bull 1-2 at Suzuka.

The Dutchman suffered his first retirement since 2022 in Melbourne last time out to snap a nine-race winning streak, but had no mechanical issues this week in a dominant performance to make it 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 sec clear of his teammate and also recorded the fastest lap.

Verstappen, who becomes the second driver to win three successive Japanese Grands Prix alongside seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, now has a 13-point lead in the driver standings over Perez.

Red Bull lead the constructor standings on 141 points ahead of Ferrari (120) and McLaren (69).

“I think we have good momentum,” said Perez, who leapfrogged 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, the winner in Australia two weeks ago, rode fresher tyres in the latter stages of the race to grab the final podium spot, edging out Leclerc, who used a one-stop strategy.

But the Spaniard was more than 20 sec behind Verstappen, underlining the gap between the teams in dry, sunny conditions.

Sainz, who will be replaced at Ferrari next season by Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton, said after the race he was nervous about how the competing strategies with his teammate would work 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 with the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Hamilton down in a disappointing seventh and ninth after a tactical strategy to switch to hard tyres early in the race backfired.

Hamilton, who said in qualifying it was the best he has felt in the car in years, cut a despondent figure 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 tyres. But in general the car just was pretty bad.”

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished sixth, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri eighth.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda came in 10th, securing points in his home grand prix for the first time to the delight of the crowd.

Reuters