Japanese Grand Prix – Race RECAP: Max Verstappen wins in Suzuka as Red Bull seal

It was a frantic race for perhaps everyone but Verstappen as he stormed ahead in the opening lap and never looked back. It was an impressive afternoon for McLaren as well as they secured second and third on the day.

Dominance in every sense of the word as Verstappen crosses the finish line to claim victory in Japan. Red Bull win their sixth constructors championship after another impressive outing.

It’s been pure dominance from Verstappen as he starts the final lap with a near 20-second lead over Norris in second.

Russell has DRS but can’t keep the Ferrari at bay down into turn one as Sainz pounces and breezes past the Mercedes driver who drops to seventh.

Things are getting tense as we enter the final five laps with Russell at first appearing to refuse team orders to swap position and advises it should happen on the last lap before doing so to allow Hamilton up into fifth. Sainz is now just behind Russell who isn’t happy.

This has been the battle of the afternoon and will now continue at the death as Hamilton prepares to try and overtake his team-mate. The Mercedes pit wall give them the green light to fight it out but warn both drivers to give space to each other.

Ferrari get their overtake as Leclerc holds his nerve around the outside of turn one to snip ahead of Russell. Great racing on show.

Things could go from bad to worse for Russell as Leclerc looks to position himself for an overtake. Hamilton isn’t far behind either.

It’s disciplined driving from Piastri as he waits and waits before pouncing going down into turn one with Russell unable to hold off.

Perez is out on track after sitting in his car for what feels like an eternity. He wills erve his five-second penalty but won’t be involved in much else.

The Mercedes star is slower than the rest of the top pack due to tyre degradation and is having to hold off Piastri in fourth. The McLaren driver has DRS and surely it’s just a matter of time before he gets past.

We enter the final 15 laps at Suzuka and there are still plenty of scenarios that can play out. Keep an eye on Hamilton in sixth who sets a new fastest lap.

It’s easy for the McLaren driver who has fresh tyres and more straightline speed as Norris flies past Russell going down the home straight.

We’ve barely spoken about the Verstappen star who has absolutely dominated at Suzuka. His stop takes just 2.6 seconds as hard tyres are put on and he emerges with his lead still intact.

The McLaren driver pits while Ferrari keep Sainz out on track. They aren’t worried about the undercut it seems but only time will tell if that was the right move. Norris set to pit as well.

Leclerc and Hamlton both come into the pits for new tyres and both emerge in sixth and seventh. Ferrari get the better stop and will be keen to try and see Leclerc pull ahead of his rival.

Mercedes are reprieved as they are told there will be no further investigation for an earlier incident that saw Hamilton push out Russell.

The Englishman has less tyre degradation than his Ferrari competitors and is now just over three seconds behind Sainz. His times are improving and he could catch both Ferrari’s within a few lap times.

This is a really strange one because Perez will be heading back out on track despite already retiring. He has a five-second penalty to serve that Red Bull don’t want to cross over to the next GP and the FIA say they can do exactly that as the Mexican prepares to get back out on track.

The Spaniard shows his experience to steal ahead of Alonso in 11th with a great move up the inside of Guanyu at a hairpin turn.

Williams pull Albon in and that is both of their drivers now out of the race. Terrible day at Suzuka for them on a weekend when they did look quick at times.

Norris is faster and gets on comms to tell McLaren to swap cars as he tries to reel in Verstappen who is over 12 seconds ahead. Him and Piastri eventually do swap down one of the straights.

We are through 25 laps out of 53 in Suzuka with Verstappen comfortable out front ahead of Piastric who is handed second place as Russell pulls in for his first pit stop.

OLLIE LEWIS IN SUZUKA: Toto Wolff must be tearing his hair out in Monaco watching this battle between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

The stewards are investigating that incident on Spoon Curve, so we haven’t heard the end of this.

It’s a third retirement of the day as Stroll is told to retire the vehicle after the pit wall spotted a problem they deemed was too serious to continue with.

It’s tight but Hamilton flies past Alonso’s Aston Martin before sugring past Ocon on the same lap. The Mercedes star is up to seventh.

It’s been a great battle between the two Mercedes drivers but Russell correctly points out that the decision to let them race each other isn’t good for overall race pace. No response from the pit wall so far.Meanwhile, Norris pits.

Norris takes the lead as Verstappen pits. Hamilton does the same after another battle with Russell on his in lap. Good stops from both garages who put on fresh tyres.

Perez retires at Suzuka for the second time in his career as a nightmare Japanese GP is brought to it’s end with him unable to continue after suffering car damage during his latest collision.

It was a short safety car and we are back racing. Piastri was the only driver able to pit under the VSC and can now jump ahead of others when they pit shortly.

Piastri’s pit stop is perfectly timed as he gets into the pits just before the safety car that is deployed for debris on the track.

The Mexican serves his five-second penalty in the pits and has a new front wing attached, fortunately Red Bull brought plenty of them! Alonso also pits for new tyres and Piastri does the same.

Things go from bad to worse for the Red Bull driver as he collides into Magnussen while trying to get up the inside at a tight turn. He takes front wing damage for the second time in this race and will likely be hit with another penalty.

The Red Bull driver escaped one investigation but is slapped witha five-second penalty for a safety car infringement. He overtook drivers coming out of the pits, he did hand positions back, but the FIA punish him with a damning penalty.

It’s all over for Bottas as he retires with his car too badly damaged to continue.

Perez escapes any punishment after he edged into Hamilton at the start of the race. He is currently 15th following a chaotic start. Sargeant meanwhile is handed a five-second penalty.

It’s been a torrid start for Alfa as Bottas is called in by the Italian team for a second pit stop after being hit by Sargeant. His race is essentially over and this is just a formality GP for Alfa now.

Verstappen dominated practice and qualifying and is looking to do so again today as he sets a new fastest lap. DRS is now enabled but Norris is almost three seconds behind already!

Great racing as Russell edges ahead of his Mercedes team-mate in a hairpin exchange before Hamilton benefits from a slipstream down the straight and retakes seventh. The seven-time world champion is carrying damage however.

Perez has dropped to 18th after his pit stop while it’s been a brilliant start for Stroll who started the day in 17th but is now up to 11th. Verstappen takes a big lead from the restart with Norris over one second behind the Red Bull.

We are still under the safety car and some drivers are beinc called in for repair work. Perez has a front wing change after he clashed with Hamilton – that incident is under review – while both Alfa’s, Albona and Lawson of AlphaTauri are also brought in.

There was a crash during the start and we have a dafety car for debris on the track and both Alfa Romeo’s are damaged with Alex Albon’s Williams also involved in contact. Bottas will need a new front wing and Guanyu is also complaining of damage.

There was also contact between Perez and Hamilton with the Red Bull driver smashing into the wheels of the Mercedes driver.

Tsunoda and Lawson are going at one another during this first lap and Lawson just about edges ahead of his team-mate.

Verstappen najes a giid start but he has to defend against both McLaren’s down into the first corner but he does hold onto his lead with some late defensive work. Norris jumps ahead of Piastri.

Lights out and we are racing in Japan!

Verstappen leads the drivers out on the formation lap as he prepares fors the start of the race and what he hopes will be a second consecutive win for the Red Bull driver.

The Suzuka GP always promises drama as drivers push their vehicles all the way on the 3.6 mile circuit. Today is the first time we have had a dry race here since 2019 and temperatures are soaring just under 30 degrees which means tyre degradation could play a huge factor.

Red Bull can wrap up the constructors championship today and will likely do so unless Mercedes pull out a shock result, however, Max Verstappen won’t be able to claim a thid consecutive world title.

The Japanese national anthem is brought to its end and the drivers are strapping on their helmets before getting into their vehicles in the baking hot Suzuka sun. The start of the Japanese GP is just minutes away.

Max Verstappen sent the clearest message yet that there will be very little chance of a repeat of last week’s upset in Singapore as the reigning champion swept aside his rivals to take pole position in Japan.

Verstappen, on a revenge mission after his shock fifth-place finish in Marina Bay, rung the neck of his RB19 around Suzuka’s figure-eight track, where the boldest driver accumulates the biggest reward.

And so it was for the Dutchman who was six-tenths clear of Oscar Piastri at the front row of the grid, in another big step towards world title No 3, should all go to plan here on Sunday.

Hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s coverage of today’s Japanese Grand Prix.

We’ve got just under 40 minutes until the action gets underway on Sunday morning, and we’ll be bringing you all the latest developments throughout the race.