Max Verstappen Takes 64th Win at Uneventful Japanese Grand Prix

After crucially taking pole position with an astonishing performance on Saturday, Max Verstappen wins the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of the McLarens.

A race of few highlights

Except for a tangle with Lando Norris at the end of the pit lane after both drivers took their only stop, there was no real on-track challenge to Verstappen's lead. Oscar Piastri (who turned 24 years old today) in 3rd position, looked to be the faster of the McLarens in the final quarter of the race, but he did not find a way past his teammate, despite staying in DRS range for half a dozen laps. McLaren Team Boss Andrea Stella commented that the classic Suzuka race track just doesn't lend itself to overtakes and that Piastri would not have fared better against Verstappen than Norris.

Mercedes score silently, Ferrari frustrations

Both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli delivered strong but rarely televised performances, finishing in P5 and P6 in the silver arrows, solidifying their P2 position in the constructors' championship behind McLaren and ahead of Red Bull. Ferrari were once again off their desired pace, with both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton losing their cool at times on the team radio, finishing P4 and P7, respectively.

The Red Bull Juniors pecking order

Scoring the first points of his F1 career, Isaac Hadjar drove a clean race, extracting the more than solid pace of the RB cars. In his first race for Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda managed to improve 2 places from his starting position of 14th in his home race. Dr. Helmut Marko, on the German Sky Sport, said that he was happy with his performance overall, with Tsunoda's mistake in his Q2 run on Saturday having already made a points finish unlikely.
Liam Lawson, having been demoted to the RBs after the Chinese Grand Prix, finished the race in P16.

Williams uneven, Bearman in the points again

Carlos Sainz finished the race outside the points in P14, one place up from his starting position (having received a 3-place grid penalty after impeding Hamilton in Qualifying). The Spaniard continues to struggle with the Williams package. His teammate, Alexander Albon, while also struggling with the car and his composure towards his team at times, managed to secure P9 and 2 points.
In another strong performance in the seemingly unpredictable Haas, Oliver Bearman, secured his second points scoring position of the season with P10.