McLaren Narrowly Missed Out As Max Verstappen Wins First Race At Japanese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen crosses the finish line ahead of McLaren duo for his first victory of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix 

Max Verstappen dominated the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka to the finish line, having in his trail the McLaren duo, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, both of whom finished in second and third positions, respectively. 

McLaren gave it the best shot from the get-go, trailing Verstappen but could not overtake the pole from the Dutch driver. Norris gave it another shot in the pit but was forced to the gravel while Verstappen kept the lane to return to the grid. 

Verstappen could not afford to blink on the last lap, having Norris and Piastri on the straight. It was a close-shave victory as Verstappen clinched his first victory of the season in 1.423s time difference between him and Norris. 

"It was tough," said Verstappen. "This weekend started off quite tough, but we didn't give u, kept improving the car. Today, it was on its best form."

Pole Position Headstart 

Red Bull maintained the pole, through the turns. Fernandes Alonso and Pierre Gasly got into a battle for position but the latter avoided a collision. It was a chaos-free start, and drivers avoided DNS. 

Tyres and Pitting

McLaren pushed Red Bull to the limits. However, that would not determine the fate of the race. The weather was favourable but damp. Thus, the timing of pitting and tyres worked out the difference. Instead of pitting Norris first, McLaren pitted Piastri. 

Norris was pitted later on, and a fraction of a second wasted in the pit gave Verstappen the time to leave the pit earlier than Norris, a moment that could have swung the fate of the race the other way. 

McLaren and Piastri 

Piastri had a close shave pace with Norris while they both trailed Verstappen. He appeared to have pace on his car to battle Red Bull. 

Since Norris was gunning for a potential takeover of Verstappen, he did not allow Piastri to speed by to challenge Verstappen. Meanwhile, the Red Bull had the traction to keep Verstappen ahead. As admitted by Norris after the qualifying session, Verstappen was in his best form at Suzuka.