Until the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Max Verstappen and Red Bull made a strong comeback after his forced retirement in Melbourne, which was expected. However, the unpredictable tire strategy kept things interesting at Suzuka.
So, who were the winners and losers of the Japanese Grand Prix?
The local hero, Tsunoda, had a great weekend and was rightfully celebrated by the fans at the end of the race.
Although Tsunoda had a slow start, RB had no business scoring points here as there were five teams that were clearly faster, and all five had both cars finish the race.
However, Tsunoda’s pitstop issues and the problems faced by Sauber, Valtteri Bottas, and Nico Hulkenberg helped him. Tsunoda also managed his final stint exceptionally well, achieving his fastest lap with just two laps remaining on hard tires that were nearly 30 laps old.
Overall, Tsunoda’s performance was deserving of his first point on home soil. – Valentin Khorounzhiy
Sergio Perez’s return to the front row for the first time since May last year was not a cause for celebration for Ferrari in qualifying. Currently, the front-running teams can only target second place, which Verstappen claimed.
However, Ferrari’s clever strategy with both cars allowed Carlos Sainz to jump from fourth to third and Charles Leclerc from seventh to fourth. This demonstrates the team’s improved approach to races and their fast car.
Sainz continues to impress after his appendectomy, and Leclerc’s performance was exceptional, completing 25 laps on the medium tire at the beginning of the race and overtaking both McLarens, Alonso, and Hamilton. McLaren’s unnecessary pitstop for Norris also played a role.
With both drivers performing well, Ferrari is now only 21 points behind Red Bull after four races, a goal that seemed unachievable before the season began. – Jack Benyon
Red Bull had some concerns about their long-run pace compared to Ferrari before the race, but those concerns were put to rest during the race.
The Ferraris were never going to challenge Verstappen, and even if they had started on the second row, Perez would have likely beaten them. This was expected from Red Bull at Suzuka, and some within the organization may feel that the gap should have been even larger.
After the chaos in Melbourne, this race brought back a sense of normality and reaffirmed that Red Bull is on track to win this year’s championships. – VK
The difference in Fernando Alonso’s performance compared to last year is significant. In 2023, he had a deficit of 74.725 seconds to Verstappen, while this year, it was reduced to 44.272 seconds.
Although the Aston Martin is still likely the fifth-fastest car, its qualifying speed, combined with solid strategy and Alonso’s effectiveness, allows the team to perform better than expected. Aston is now competing in a way it couldn’t at the end of last year.
Alonso’s performance remains impressive, matching the high standard he set last year. – Jack Cozens
McLaren’s strategy didn’t go as planned, as they found themselves making their second pitstop at the same time as a direct rival who was making their first stop. Something clearly went wrong.
It was expected that Lando Norris would have been able to overtake at least one Ferrari, but the early aggressive pitstop, which briefly undercut Perez, seemed to hinder McLaren’s lead car for the rest of the race.
McLaren also didn’t achieve the pace they had hoped for. While they were competitive, it wasn’t enough to meet their expectations.
If this is the best performance they can achieve at the moment, it falls short of what is required. – VK
Williams was the first team to suffer, with their lead car being taken out on the opening lap. Even without that incident, it would have been difficult for them to secure points.
Some may criticize Albon’s car positioning in the incident with Ricciardo, but due to Ricciardo’s slow corner exit, Albon had nowhere to go. Ricciardo didn’t leave enough room or pay enough attention.
Sargeant had a challenging race, making an error at the first Degner and going off the track at the second. Many drivers struggled with those corners, but none as much as Sargeant, especially considering he was on cold tires.
Reversing back onto the track in that situation felt dangerous, especially with other drivers on cold or old tires. Williams also suffered significant damage, which they can ill afford. – JB
Lance Stroll had a challenging race, starting far below where the car should be. While Alonso kept Aston competitive, Stroll was fighting among the slower cars. There was a clear performance hierarchy, and the Aston was only capable of scoring minimal points.
Whether Stroll was at fault for missing out on the top 10 is debatable, but his late pitstop for soft tires was surprising and didn’t pay off. It was expected that Stroll would struggle once he qualified where he did. – VK
Mercedes remains positive that they understand their major weaknesses and have gained insight from this weekend. There were also mitigating circumstances for their subdued performance at Suzuka.
However, sixth and seventh place was the best they could have achieved, even if they had realized earlier that a two-stop strategy was the best option due to severe tire degradation.
This result is far from outstanding and falls short of what a team of Mercedes’ caliber should achieve. They are now jostling for fourth place in the constructors’ championship with Aston Martin, a team that has been struggling this season. – JC
For Daniel Ricciardo, the weekend started well before ending abruptly at Turn 3. He had shown improvement compared to his teammate over the weekend, but the collision with Alex Albon changed everything.
It was a split-second misjudgment from Ricciardo, although it didn’t warrant a penalty. Ultimately, he was clearly at fault for the crash, moving over on Albon at Turn 3 without realizing it.
Fortunately, a chassis change was already planned for Shanghai. – VK
The upgraded A524 showed signs of improvement in qualifying for Alfa Romeo, but in the race, it once again proved to be the worst car on the grid.
Passing cars with the same strategy was difficult at Suzuka, except for the Alpines, who were clearly struggling. Pierre Gasly had floor damage, presumably from a clash with Esteban Ocon, but even without the damage, Ocon’s pace wasn’t impressive either.
Overall, the only positive to take away from this weekend was Ocon’s performance. However, this reflects more positively on his standing in the driver market than on Alpine, as their performance is far from respectable at the moment. – VK