The 2023 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka circuit featured thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing and pivotal championship moments.
The start saw immediate drama, with an Alpine spinning and sustaining damage after hitting a wheel bump. Despite defending from the charging McLaren of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s Alpine, pole-sitter Max Verstappen maintained his lead for Red Bull. Further back, AlphaTauri teammates Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson squeezed each other, allowing Lawson to move up to 10th. A crash soon triggered the safety car.
The battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez ended in contact, forcing Perez to retire his Red Bull. Mercedes’ George Russell boldly passed teammate Hamilton, who quickly reclaimed 7th position in a captivating duel. Valtteri Bottas retired early from a strong points position.
Verstappen executed a flawless pit stop to stay ahead of Piastri after their sole stops. Hamilton pitted to discard mediums for hards. Russell had a wide moment, allowing Verstappen through to seize 2nd. Charles Leclerc swept past Fernando Alonso’s Alpine for 6th. Carlos Sainz stalked his childhood hero Alonso and inevitably demoted him to 7th. Hamilton delivered a superb late dive on Alonso at 130R to grab 6th.
Leclerc finally got the requested team order to take 2nd from Sainz. Oscar Piastri pulled off a terrific pass around the outside of Hamilton for the final podium spot. Crowd-pleasing wheel-to-wheel battles continued between Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, with Alonso prevailing.
Late in the race, Mercedes asked Russell and Hamilton to swap positions to maximize points. After briefly exchanging positions twice more, Russell yielded 6th to Hamilton under pressure from Sainz’s Ferrari.
Max Verstappen dominated to take his 13th victory of 2022, clinching the Constructors’ Championship for Red Bull for the second consecutive season. With their 6th Constructors’ title, Red Bull is now the 3rd most successful team in history. Verstappen can seal his 2nd consecutive Drivers’ Championship under lights at the next race in Qatar.
Suzuka once again proved a fitting venue for Red Bull to celebrate a hard-earned title, with Verstappen delivering a lights-to-flag victory. The exciting wheel-to-wheel action throughout demonstrated why fans love Formula 1’s return to iconic Suzuka.
