Max Verstappen returned to winning ways in a dominant drive at the Japanese Grand Prix to not only claim his 13th win of the season, but also to wrap up a sixth Constructor’s title for Red Bull.
Verstappen fended off an attack from the two McLarens on the run into Turn 1. Lando Norris would jump Oscar Piastri in the opening exchange to lead home a 2-3 for the British marque.
Read more: F1 2023 Japanese Grand Prix – Race Report
Charles Leclerc finished fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz while George Russell fell down the order after attempting a one-stop strategy. The Briton fell from third to seventh in the closing stages of the race.
Fernando Alonso returned to the points with an eighth place finish ahead of the Alpine duo of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly who completed the top ten.
There were a number of retirements as several drivers picked up damage on the run into Turn 1. Bottas was the first to retire after contact with Sargeant at Turn 11. Sergio Perez also retired after contact at Turn 11 in an optimistic lunge on Kevin Magnussen.
Lance Stroll’s race was curtailed by a rear wing failure while both Williams drivers were also forced out of the race after picking up worsening damage.
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Max Verstappen | Red Bull | |||
| 2 |
|
Lando Norris | McLaren | 19.387 | ||
| 3 |
|
Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 36.494 | ||
| 4 |
|
Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 43.998 | ||
| 5 |
|
Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 49.376 | ||
| 6 |
|
Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | 50.221 | ||
| 7 |
|
George Russell | Mercedes | 57.659 | ||
| 8 |
|
Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 74.725 | ||
| 9 |
|
Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 79.678 | ||
| 10 |
|
Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 83.155 | ||
| 11 |
|
Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri | 1 Lap | ||
| 12 |
|
Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1 Lap | ||
| 13 |
|
Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1 Lap | ||
| 14 |
|
Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1 Lap | ||
| 15 |
|
Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1 Lap | ||
| 16 |
|
Alex Albon | Williams | DNF | ||
| 17 |
|
Logan Sargeant | Williams | DNF | ||
| 18 |
|
Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | DNF | ||
| 19 |
|
Sergio Perez | Red Bull | DNF | ||
| 20 |
|
Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | DNF |
