Verstappen’s excellence leads to his fourth consecutive Japanese Grand Prix victory

By: Henry Quach

Photo Credit: Clive Rose

Fans were welcomed to Suzuka, Japan, on April 6 for the Japanese Grand Prix. Many were excited for Yuki Tsunoda, who was making his Red Bull debut after previously driving for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls in his home country of Japan. 

With 53 laps on the schedule, this past weekend’s qualifying session ended with a battle for pole position between McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, each aiming for the fastest lap of the session. In the end, Verstappen beat Piastri by 0.012 seconds to earn the spot.  

Before any race begins, all 20 drivers must go through a formation lap to test out the track conditions and see what their plan is to gain a faster time on the track. After the lap is finished, they are then signaled by Christian Bryll, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) starter, to start the five-light countdown. 

These lights are designed to test the driver’s reaction time, which could be a crucial moment for either gaining or losing their original positioning. 

Drivers were set to put on a show as the lights went out, however, nothing dramatically changed as the top ten drivers were consistent throughout the race. There were some battles on the back of the grid, but overall, Verstappen kept his composure and dominated the race start as McLaren’s driver, Lando Norris, and Piastri were lurking. 

The race continued peacefully with no sorts of chaos until Lap 22, where that would change with a pit lane battle between Verstappen and Norris. 

Drivers will enter the pit lane to change their tires for a new set to improve grip or adjust based on the number of laps remaining. Teams will then strategize, choosing between two different tire options: dry track or wet-weather tires if rain is involved. 

Verstappen was the first to be released from his respective team’s pit lane. Despite being released first, Norris’s pit lane was closer to the pit exit, and after a quicker pit stop for McLaren, both Norris and Verstappen arrived side by side, beginning the battle for first place.

Norris had the opportunity to take the lead in the pit lane, but ultimately lost to Verstappen in the pit lane after not having enough space to leave and going off the track 

It wasn’t a challenging day for the drivers, as all 20 of them finished the race with no delay. Verstappen earned his fourth straight victory in Japan, with the McLaren duo taking second and third place, respectively. 

This race is part of a triple header, as the teams will head to Bahrain next week and Saudi Arabia the week after, as the championship battle between Norris and Verstappen begins to brew up.