Max Verstappen has closed an almost perfect weekend by dominating the Japanese Grand Prix from the start to the checkered flag. The Dutchman’s 48th victory has also helped Red Bull mathematically seal its sixth constructors’ title with six races left in the season. The Milton Keynes-based team has also ensured that it is the only candidate for the drivers’ title, since only Verstappen and his teammate, Sergio Pérez, aspire numbers in hand to win this classification.
Verstappen was accompanied on the podium by the two McLarens, the Australian Oscar Piastri, who scored his first top 3 in the category, and Lando Norris, who was on the podium for the tenth time in F1.
MARIO ISOLA, HEAD OF PIRELLI MOTORSPORT
“First of all, I would like to congratulate Red Bull for their sixth constructors’ title and for mathematically ensuring that only their drivers, Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, can achieve the drivers’ title. The team led by Christian Horner is leaving its mark on the current era of Formula 1, breaking all records and achieving results that are as incredible as they are deserved.
“The Suzuka circuit is one of the hardest for tires, and this year, with higher temperatures, the demands on them have been increased. This afternoon, everything went as expected and the three dry compounds available were used, creating a situation that revealed different strategies between teams and riders. After studying the data from free practice we already stated that the two-stop tactic would be the fastest, which has ended up being confirmed. Those who have tried something different, like George Russell, have had to do their best to stop their rivals. Compared to Friday, the Medium has been the most used compound, although the difference in terms of degradation has not been so great today compared to the Soft.
THE JAPAN GP FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE TIRES
A total of 13 drivers have chosen the Medium for their first stint, and 7 more for the Soft. If we leave aside those who have quickly changed plans after suffering collisions in the early stages of the race, it was clear that the vast majority of riders would follow a two-stop tactic, thus making the most of the sets of tires available. . In fact, those who had two sets of Hard ones available have used them, with the exception of Russell, who after doing a good job of managing the Medium from the start, managed to complete the race with a single stop, stretching the hard one to the 29 laps. The Mercedes has also been the one that has completed the most laps with the Medium (24), and Zhou (Alfa Romeo) has covered the most laps with the Soft (19).
NEXT GP: QATAR (October 6-8)
The Qatar GP will be next on the list, between October 6 and 8. Formula 1 makes its second appearance at the Lusail circuit, after the one held in 2021. The teams will have C1, C2 and C3 compounds available. The facilities at the Doha track have been completely renovated to host the World Championship for another ten years. This will be the fourth time that the Sprint format will be held, as will happen soon in Austin and Sao Paulo.
Leave a Reply