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Max Verstappen got back to winning ways with a dominant victory at the 2024 F1 Japanese GP. The Red Bull driver did a brilliant job once again as he made the most of the car under him and then paced himself by keeping Sergio Perez at bay for the entire race.
The F1 Japanese GP began with a massive crash between Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon on the first lap. The collision brought out the red flag, which meant the race had to be restarted. From that point, it was all about managing the pace at the front for Max Verstappen, as he wasn't really challenged at any time.
In P3 we had Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who moved up one place from his starting position. In P4, we had Charles Leclerc, as the driver made his way through the field and executed a one-stopper brilliantly
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In P5, we had Lando Norris, as the McLaren driver drove a brilliant race but just couldn't hold off the faster cars. As the F1 Japanese GP comes to an end, what did we learn? Let's take a look.
2024 F1 Japanese GP: Key Takeaways
#1 Red Bull is NOT within catching distance for Ferrari
There were a few who would have gotten their hopes up after the race in Melbourne or after the practice runs that showed a strong long-run pace on Friday. The reality, however, remains that Ferrari was not even within touching distance of Red Bull.
The RB20 had a significant upgrade this weekend, and that should have helped, but if you ultimately look at the lap times, you see a car that's around half a second quicker than the competition. With that level of advantage, it's hard for Ferrari to pose a threat, be it at the F1 Japanese GP or at any race in general.
#2 Max Verstappen is going to cruise to another title
A half-a-second gap over the closest competitor is a decent buffer for Red Bull, but what truly stands out is the relentless ability of Max Verstappen to continue to be on his game all the time.
The Dutch driver never misses a beat. And with the kind of advantage his car has at the moment, the title already seems like a foregone conclusion. He's back on a winning streak at the F1 Japanese GP, and we will see a lot more of him doing that this season.
#3 Ferrari will be desperate to resolve Charles Leclerc's qualifying issues
Charles Leclerc drove a brilliant race on Sunday, but if he keeps messing up his qualifying, it is never going to yield strong results for him. Ferrari and the driver need to figure out what's going on because this will prove to be a detriment to most of his races.
#4 Fernando Alonso is dragging Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso was magnificent at the F1 Japanese GP, and it's not the first time he's done that in the Aston Martin. The bigger question, though, continues to be where his teammate finished, and it's almost embarrassing to glance over the timesheets.
Aston Martin came into existence because Lawrence Stroll wanted his son to be an F1 champion. What is the future of this outfit if his son continues to be the weakest link?
#5 The Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes has not looked this listless ever
Lewis Hamilton himself suggesting to Mercedes that he could let George Russell through was a shocker. This was just an indication of how out of sorts Mercedes is at the moment, and they can't find a way to dig themselves out of this hole.
It is Lance Stroll's ineptness that has kept the Mercedes P4 in the championship, as Aston Martin could have easily usurped them this weekend.
#6 McLaren's much-awaited upgrade is going to catch everyone's attention
The F1 Japanese GP showed that McLaren is very good on tracks with fast-speed sections. What it also brought to light was that the team is yet to bring that major upgrade, which was supposed to be in the launch spec.
McLaren is currently third in the championship, but it will be interesting to see when that upgrade comes and what it does for the team.
#7 The gap between the top 5 and bottom 5 is ridiculous
Lewis Hamilton was 45 seconds ahead of Yuki Tsunoda by the end of the F1 Japanese GP. This is just a sign of the atrociously massive gap between the top 5 and bottom 5 teams on the grid.
Last season, the gap was never this big, but it does appear that while the top 5 teams have found the path to develop their cars better, the bottom five haven't, and hence the result is for all to see.
In terms of racing and viewing experience, it does make the entire thing very predictable, and as the season progresses, we're going to hear more and more about this.
#8 Yuki Tsunoda is auditioning for the Aston Martin seat
Yuki Tsunoda once again got a point with a brilliant drive to P10 in his home race. At this point, Yuki is not auditioning for a seat at Red Bull, but he's showing Honda and Aston Martin what he can do in a car. The manner in which the gulf between Alonso and Stroll continues to grow, the Japanese is doing his prospects no harm with these performances.
#9 Williams can't catch a break in 2024
Williams suffered another setback in Suzuka and this time around it was Alex Albon crashing out. This increases the mileage of the only good chassis that the team has and with that, it raises questions about the team's season so far.
2024 has not been the best one for the team, and it doesn't appear that it will get better soon.
#10 What is Sauber doing?
Another weekend where Zhou started the race at the back and was out of it before anyone could notice. This team would be completely owned by Audi in the future, and if this is the level of performance right now, it's not a good sign. The F1 Japanese GP was just another disappointing weekend for Sauber.
