SUZUKA, Japan — Four-time defending Formula One world champion Max Verstappen claimed a pole to flag victory for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, winning his first race of the Formula One season and an unprecedented fourth in a row at Suzuka.
Verstappen crossed the line for his 64th grand prix victory to a huge ovation from the 115 000 crowd some 1.4 seconds ahead of McLaren’s championship leader Lando Norris in second place.
Norris’s lead over Verstappen in the drivers’ championship was slashed to one point, while his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri rounded out the podium in third place on his 24th birthday.
Verstappen has struggled with his car this season but he delivered in his final lap in qualifying at Suzuka, pipping Norris. “If you look at how our season started, it’s very unexpected,” the Dutchman said of his first pole position of the season.
“I think that makes it a very special one,” Verstappen said according to AFP.
Verstappen is still looking for his first race victory of the campaign, having finished second in Australia and fourth in China.
He has won in Japan for the past three seasons but he was cautious about reading too much into his latest qualifying success.
“I don’t say, ‘oh I’m first now, everything is perfect’,” said the Dutchman.
“We still have clear issues that we need to solve. That’s what we are continuing to work on.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth ahead of Mercedes duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with RB’s Isack Hadjar seventh.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was eighth, followed by Williams’s Alex Albon and Haas’s Oliver Bearman.
The McLarens have started the season in rampant form, with Norris winning the opener in Melbourne and Piastri leading him in a one-two finish in Shanghai.
Norris said the team would “do our homework tonight” to try and break Verstappen’s stranglehold on the Japanese Grand Prix.
“It’s probably going to be a bit of a race like Melbourne, and that was an exciting race for everyone,” said the Briton.
“But now I’ve got to try and do some overtakes, so we’ll see. It’s exciting.”
Tsunoda was eliminated in Q2 in a disappointing first qualifying drive for Red Bull after being promoted in place of Liam Lawson last week.
The Japanese driver finished one place behind Lawson, who returned to RB after just two races for Red Bull in a ruthless driver swap.
