It was perhaps not the performance McLaren had hoped for at the Japanese Grand Prix, especially considering the high expectations after a promising qualifying. Starting third, Lando Norris appeared to have a strong chance of securing a back to back podium finish. However, he ultimately lost out—not only to Carlos Sainz but also Charles Leclerc,…
Fernando Alonso’s consistent performance across the first four races of the season was particularly evident at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix. Despite qualifying fifth on Saturday, Alonso drew attention from other teams for preserving a set of soft tyres, a strategy that could have helped at the start. On both standing starts, however, he failed…
After the Japanese Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda shared his feelings about scoring points in his home race, the overwhelming support he has experienced, and the significance of his achievement. “Yeah, it’s been amazing,” Tsunoda began, reflecting on the joy of securing points after missing out in 2022 and 2023. He was quick to acknowledge his…
After an abysmal qualifying yesterday, which left him eighth on the grid, Charles Leclerc had a very well executed race which even brought him the driver of the day honours. Opting for just one stop after the restart, the Ferrari-driver managed to extend his medium tyres to jump both McLarens, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, promoting him to fourth at the finish. Which left him quite satisfied about the race.
Formula 1 is a simple sport, 20 man race for 305 kilometres, and in the end Verstappen wins. This paraphrase of Gary Lineker’s famous quote seems all too applicable on Formula 1 these days. Even when there is an interesting race because the high tyre wear, the Dutchman makes winning a Grand Prix look like a walk in the park.
In a nightmare scenario for the team, Alex Albon’s chassis sustained damage as a result of his opening-lap collision with RB’s Daniel Ricciardo in Japan. Albon ended up in the tyre wall as both drivers crashed out, triggering an early red flag. Albon fortunately emerged unscathed, though he confessed that his thoughts immediately turned to…
Saturday’s qualifying resulted 27th front row for Red Bull Racing, so beforehand another walk in the park for Max Verstappen was anticipated. But with a 40°C track temperature, a lot warmer than during practice, tyre wear would be the big question mark for today’s race.
For the second consecutive weekend, Esteban Ocon managed to get himself out of Q1 as he made the top 15 for today’s Japanese Grand Prix. The Frenchman was P14 after the first runs in the opening segment of qualifying. He went one better at the end of the session as the 2021 Hungarian GP winner…
The American driver will start the race from 19th on the grid, only ahead of the struggling Sauber of Zhou Guanyu – but he was encouraged by what he described as a “good turnaround” after limited practice running and a big set-up change ahead of qualifying in Suzuka. After missing the race last time out…
Lance Stroll is having a nightmare weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix. Aston Martin brought updates to Suzuka and Fernando Alonso maximised it from FP3 onwards, qualifying P5 for Sunday’s race. The Canadian driver had the new package since FP1. While his Q1 elimination was probably a shock to many, the signs had been there…
