Verstappen bounces back with dominant win at Japanese Grand Prix

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, left, leads Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco, right, during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, yesterday

Max Verstappen’s record-breaking dominance in Formula 1 resumed yesterday with his victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, leading almost the entire race on a sunny day in central Japan.

His abrupt breakdown two weeks ago in Melbourne, Australia, looks like a blip in his total command over F1. He was out on the fourth lap when he rear brakes caught fire.

Nothing like that this time.

Verstappen basically led from start to finish except for falling back briefly after a pit stop. He was followed across the finish line by Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez — 12.5 seconds behind — and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari. Sainz was 20 seconds off the pace.

The three-time defending F1 champion is again this season’s points leader and now has won 22 of the last 26 races dating from the start of the 2023 season. Only two other drivers have won in that span — Red Bull teammate Perez and Sainz, the winner in Australia two weeks ago.

“That was a very lovely race,” Verstappen said on the team radio just after crossing the line.

A red flag went up just seconds into the tightly packed first lap when Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo clipped each other on the second turn and sent both crashing out of the race.

“The critical bit was the start to stay ahead and after that the car just got better and better,” Verstappen said later. “It couldn’t have been any been any better.”

Both drivers walked away, apparenly without serious injuries. The restart was delayed 30 minutes to get the cars off the track and clear debris.

Verstappen pushed his season points total to 77 and is 13 clear of Perez with 64. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc follows with 59 with Sainz on 55.

The next race is in two weeks at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. F1 has not run a race there since 2019 with four races called off becasue of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s going to be quite hectic,” Verstappen said. “We’ve havent been there in a while — only one practice session to get into it again. So I think it will be quite interesting.”

The race was run under sunny skies in the midst of the cherry blossom season across the Japanese archipelago. The Suzuka track was built by Honda, which powers Red Bull, and is still run by the Japanese car builder. It’s set southwest of Nagoya, Japan’s fourth largest city, in a center of heavy industry.

Verstappen, 26, put down rumors early this week that he might leave Red Bull, maybe for Mercedes.

“From my side, I’m very happy where I am. And, yeah, we want to keep it that way.” He even hinted at an early retirement.

“I have a contract with Red Bull until ‘28,” he said. “After that, I first want to see if I actually even want to continue. That’s for me the most important.” STEPHEN WADE, SUZUKA, MDT/AP