F1 Japanese GP: Verstappen holds off McLarens for win

Starting in pole position, Verstappen takes the win at Suzaka, fending off both the McLarens to a fourth successive victory in Japan. Verstappen took an early lead and held the position, before almost giving it up after the first pitstop, when Norris and himself pitted at the same time. Ferrei’s Leclerc and George Russell round up the top five in the Japanese GP.

F1 Japanese GP: The race

Drama started early on when Verstappen pitted at the same time as Norris, and the McLaren driver, looking at the opportunity, went for the gap at the pit exit while Verstappen managed to fend him off, as Norris ended up on the grass. Both the drivers communicated the incident over the radio, however, race officials have decided not to investigate the issue.

The battle between the McLarens was intense for second place as Norris almost lost his spot in the finishing laps, however, birthday man Piastri had to settle for third. The top 10 places in the race remained the same throughout the race with Hamilton finishing seventh and rookie Isack Hadjar earning his first points, finishing the race in eighth position.

There was an intense battle further back for P11 between Alonso and Gasly, with Alonso muscling his way to finish ahead of the Alpine driver. Eventually, the race saw the first ten positions being taken by Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Hamilton, Albon and Bearman.

F1 Japanese GP: Results

Speaking of the race, Verstappen said, “It was tough, just pushing very hard, especially on the last set. The two McLarens were pushing me very hard and it was a lot of fun out there. Not easy of course to manage the tyres but I’m incredibly happy. It started off quite tough this weekend but we didn’t give up, we kept improving the car and today it was in its best form. Of course, starting on pole really made it possible to win this race.”