Red Bull’s Max Verstappen holds off McLarens to win his fourth straight Japanese GP

Max Verstappen won Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix for his first victory of the young season and just the third in 17 races but needed a drive that his Red Bull team engineer called “perfection” to get it done.

It was Verstappen’s fourth straight victory on the Suzuka circuit in central Japan and breaks the momentum of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who won the season’s first two races in Australia and China.

“We still have work to do,” Verstappen said. “But it does show if we nail everything we can be up there.”

He did just that.

The four-time defending Formula 1 champion, Verstappen started from pole position after setting a course-record time in qualifying, which he called “insane.” Norris placed second and Piastri was third. The track was dry despite rain earlier in the day to produce an incident-free race.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth followed by George Russell of Mercedes and teammate Kimi Antonelli in sixth. Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda finished 12th in his first drive with Red Bull’s top team.

“We keep pushing,” Verstappen said. “Unbelievable. A great weekend for us.”

Norris leads the driver’s standings after three of 24 races with 62 points to 61 for Verstappen.

The weekend turned when Verstappen took the pole on his record lap Saturday in qualifying. And there was only one incident of note in Sunday’s race — one that’s being dubbed the “grass-cutting moment.”

Most of the leaders pitted around the 20-lap mark with Verstappen and Norris exiting the pits at almost exactly the same time with Norris forced to drive over the grass, unable to get by Verstappen as he tried to access the track.

“He drove himself into the grass,” Verstappen said on the radio.

Norris said he had no bone to pick with Verstappen.

“He had the position and the right to do what he did,” Norris said. “He was still ahead. It kind of squeezes into one. And Max is the last guy I expect to give me any space.”

Race stewards agreed.

After the race, Verstappen saluted Japanese engine maker Honda, which this season will end its run of supplying the Red Bull team. And of course the win came on the Suzuka circuit, which Honda runs.

“If was fun, just pushing very hard at the end,” Verstappen said. “The two McLarens were pushing very hard. We didn’t give up improving the car and today it was in its best form.”

“Of course, starting on the pole — that’s what made it possible to win this race.”

Norris trailed right behind Verstappen for almost the whole race, unable to pass on the narrow Suzuka circuit.

“I could see Max quite clearly for the whole race but just couldn’t quite make any inroads,” Norris said, unsurprised Verstappen was flawless and left him no openings.

“I don’t need anyone to tell me what Max is capable of doing,” he said.

Piastri and Norris both suggested their cars were slightly quicker than most this season. But the gap with other frontrunners Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari is narrow.

“I think we have a small advantage,” Piastri said. “But any small mistake and there’s a lot of competition there to capitalize.”

Sunday’s start was clean with Verstappen taking the lead with the top starters on the grid falling into line behind him. Verstappen slowly stretched his lead and was two seconds ahead of Norris after 10 of 53 laps and kept the same advantage after 15.

Antonelli led briefly in the middle of the race as he stayed out longer on his first set of tires. At 18 he became the youngest to ever lead an F1 race. In addition, he also had the fastest lap — the youngest to do that, too.

Verstappen was back in the lead after 32 laps, only 1.3 seconds ahead of Norris and 3.4 up on Piastri. On the 36th lap the team radio told him: “Push from here.”

He did just that, pedal-to-the-metal all the way to his 64th career win.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing