Analysis of the Japanese Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit
Formula One – F1 returned to Japan for a race weekend with some of the most passionate fans you will see anywhere in the world. It was also the earliest that the Japanese Grand Prix has ever been held, as F1 seeks to regionalise further the calendar to make logistics easier for teams. It also meant that it was cherry blossom season in Japan, a famous sight for the country that added to the spectacle. So, who would blossom in Japan at this historic F1 venue.
There was plenty of optimism coming into the weekend that Ferrari could continue where it left off in Australia, with Sainz in particular hoping for a repeat win. Suzuka is also a track which has been historically kind to McLaren, not least last year where they took a double podium behind Verstappen. With a car which continues to make progress, the team in Papaya could perhaps have dreamed for one better in 2024.
Elsewhere, Mercedes would have been hoping for an improvement after reliability issues in Australia have added to their concerns about their relative performance and the local fans will have hoped for something special from their home driver Yuki Tsunoda, not least after his points finish in Melbourne.
Qualifying again showed the superior pace of both Red Bulls, as Verstappen dominated, with Perez not far behind on the front row. The gap between the two was under 0.1 seconds, which suggested that the Mexican would at least be keeping Verstappen honest for the race duration. Lando Norris delivered an impressive third place, ahead of Carlos Sainz, with Alonso an impressive fifth.
Mercedes would have been disappointed with their seventh and ninth in qualifying, as they had been right up with the pace in practice. This has often been the case this season for the Brackley team, who seem to start the weekend with optimism, only to suffer as the so-called business end of the weekend comes around.
When it came to the race, it was all about tyre strategy and timing. Unfortunately for Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon, their race did not last long enough to find out their strategies as a collision between the two ended both their races on the first lap and also led to a red flag and a thirty-minute delay whilst the tyre barriers were fixed. It would not have been welcome for either driver.
Ricciardo is already under pressure this season, with Tsunoda regularly outperforming him and the Australian is keen to impress teams higher up the grid, given the current state of the driver market for next year.
For Alex Albon and Williams, their recent track record of crashes is causing issues. Last time out in Melbourne, Logan Sargeant was not even able to race due to a lack of an available chassis, following an Albon crash over that weekend, and this latest incident will cause further issues for a team which is already lacking competitive pace.
After the race restart, it was yet another dominant display from Verstappen and Perez, with the Red Bulls delivering a comfortable one-two, ten seconds ahead of the rest of the field. It was really never in doubt, given that the only realistic barrier to victory would have been a major strategy error, which would be a rarity for the team, which is well known for meticulous planning.
Behind them, it felt like Ferrari would have been the happiest of the rest. Not only did Sainz finish third with Leclerc fourth, they have clearly cemented their position this season as the second-best team. Whilst in previous races, McLaren had been breathing down their necks, this was not the case in Suzuka. Lando Norris did manage a fairly comfortable fifth, however a series of Ferrari overtakes during the race demonstrated a clear pace advantage for the Scuderia. McLaren will be hoping that upgrades planned for Miami in the beginning of May should help close that gap.
Further back, Alonso was a very impressive sixth, with his incredible talent providing results for a car that, without his experience, may well be further down the field. Piastri would have been disappointed to be overtaken late on by George Russell, with the Brit finishing seventh, with Piastri just ahead of the other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
Finally, Yuki Tsunoda gave something for his home crowd to cheer for, finishing in the points an impressive 10th.
F1 takes a break before its return to China on 21 April.
- Laurence Jones is senior manager, Marketing and Communications, Bahrain International Circuit
l.jones@bic.com.bh
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