BETTER PARTSVerstappen wins the 2023 Formula 1 GP of Japan while others fail
Verstappen single-handedly wins the constructors' championship for Red Bull
During qualifying for the 2023 Japanese GP, Max Verstappen once again showed who is the boss in Formula 1. The championship leader was more than half a second faster than anyone else. Behind Verstappen, McLaren is the fastest. Rookie Oscar Piastri defeated his teammate and starts today from P2. Sergio Pérez starts fifth. The Mercedes start from P7 and P8. If Red Bull scores one point more than Mercedes, the team of Verstappen and Pérez will be champions.
Start of the 2023 Formula 1 Japanese GP
Both McLarens get away great and immediately attack Verstappen. Piastri and Norris are away faster, but Verstappen still keeps the lead. Norris continues to ride until the second corner, where he has to stop the battle. Behind the top three, the Ferraris, Pérez and Hamilton head towards the first corner. That turns out to be a bit too much of a good thing.
Hamilton lands on the grass and then collides with Pérez. This touch brings Pérez in for a new front wing. When Pérez enters the pit lane, he accelerates again before the safety car line. That is not allowed, so Pérez receives a five-second penalty.
⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️LIGHTS OUT AT SUZUKA!!!Norris fights Verstappen into the first corner but it's the Dutchman who keeps the leadAnd there's a scrabble for positions and contact behind #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/ oUD5eIWRqQ
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 24, 2023 Back to the start. Further back, Bottas pushes his Alfa Romeo into Albon's Williams for the first corner. The debris flies around and hits Zhou's front wing. Bottas ensures that both Alfa Romeos have to go in for a new nose. In addition, the safety car enters the track so that the remaining parts of the cars can be removed.
Restart after the safety car
Verstappen waits until the last chicane before he hits the gas. The Dutch driver times the restart perfectly and creates an eight-tenths gap before the first corner. In the same lap after the SC, Bottas leaves the track again. This time it doesn't happen because of his own actions.
Bottas overtakes Sargeant on the outside in the hairpin bend. The Alfa Romeo leaves enough room for the Williams, but Sargeant brakes too deep into the corner and overshoots. As a result, he rams Bottas' car into the side. Sargeant receives a five-second penalty for this action. Bottas retires after a lap because the car has too much damage.
Pérez copies Sargeant and drops out
In exactly the same place as the clash between Bottas and Sargeant, Pérez dives on the inside of Magnussen. The action comes from quite a distance and turns out to be hopeless. Pérez hits Magnussen's left rear wheel, causing him to spin. Once again Pérez has to come in for a new nose. After a lap of trying, Pérez reports that the car does not feel right. He then parks his car in the pit box.
On lap 16 Verstappen comes in. He switches his mediums for another set of yellow ring tires. Verstappen returns to the track 2.5 seconds before Piastri. Further back, the Mercedes make it difficult for each other. After an earlier moment in the final chicane, Hamilton makes a mistake in Degner 2. After an attempt in the hairpin bend, Russell makes another move, in the Spoon bend. Hamilton runs his car outside, pushing Russell off the track. To this, Russell responds by asking who they actually want to race against, each other or the others.
LAP 16/53 The two Mercedes are still squabbling "Who do we want to fight? Each other, or the others?" asks George Russell over the radio #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/IPiT0myGy9
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 24, 2023 McLaren is powerless against Verstappen halfway through the race. Piastri comes in on lap 35, Norris a lap later. Verstappen responds to this by replacing his old rubber with new hard tires on the next lap. After the stop, Verstappen remains in the lead. McLaren will have accepted that Verstappen is too powerful today. That is why the team is trying to secure second and third places.
Pérez can participate again for a while
Meanwhile, Stroll, Sargeant and Albon bring their cars to the pits at various times to end the race. At Red Bull they work on Pérez's car during the race. With many laps behind, Pérez is sent outside for one lap. This allows Pérez to redeem his five-second penalty. It is strange to see a car retire and then see it back on the track for one lap.
LAP 40/53Here comes Sergio Perez #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/yEEnXK6QNh
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 24, 2023 After some mistakes and overtaking actions at the start of the race, the battle threatens to die towards the end. Verstappen is more than seventeen seconds ahead of Norris, who in turn is fourteen seconds ahead of his teammate. Leclerc makes a nice overtake on Russell in the first two corners, but the Japanese crowd does not get much more entertainment.
LAP 45/53Brilliant racing from Russell and LeclercThe Ferrari driver wins this battle and moves up to P4 #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/iPiTpust7X
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 24, 2023 ## Mercedes uses the Sainz trick against Sainz
Towards the end things come back to life. George Russell is in P5 with old hard tires. Hamilton and Sainz are right behind him. Because Hamilton does not pass his teammate, Sainz can follow. Russell is ordered to let his teammate pass. After some grumbling, Hamilton is allowed to overtake him. Now Russell has to make sure Sainz doesn't get past.
To help Russell, Hamilton should not drive too far away. That way Russell keeps DRS. The trick that gave Sainz victory last week. Sainz does not become a victim of his own trick. He overtakes Russell on the straight. Sainz then chases Hamilton, but he stays in front of the Ferrari.
LAP 50/53Sainz wastes no time and soars past Russell. The Spaniard is up to P6 #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/1aQ4hcDP6t
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 24, 2023 ## Verstappen wins, Red Bull is champion
Verstappen drives to victory without any problems. This brings the count to 48 race victories. Because Russell and Hamilton together score 16 points, Verstappen secures the championship for Red Bull in Japan. This makes Red Bull Racing the earliest champion in F1 history. That is, with most races to go.
OUR MANNN IN JAPANN!! 🏆 @Max33Verstappen WINNNSS the #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/EcHwoeKLBQ
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) September 24, 2023 ## Result of the 2023 Formula 1 GP of Japan
- Verstappen02. Norris03. Piastri04. Leclerc05. Hamilton06. Sainz07. Russell08. Alonso09. Gasly10. Ocon11. Lawson12. Tsunoda13. Zhou14. Hulkenberg15. Magnussen16. Albon17. Sargeant18. Stroll19. Pérez20. Bottas