Max Verstappen defeated Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and won the Japanese Grand Prix after the Pit Lane controversy case and the McLaren team ordered the controversy.
Verstappen drove from a pole position on the grid towards Norris, chopping up a briton on the run up to the first turn. Dutchman, who held the racing line in the middle of the road, took first place ahead of the ever-changing top 10.
With a one-stop strategy expected, the first stint of the race was in the cage, and there was no major gap in the field.
George Russell urged Oscar Piastri to cover from third on the next lap, stopping from the fifth time on lap 19, to force open the front runner’s pit window.
The threat of Australians who had been shadowing the leaders prompted both Verstappen and Norris to pit on the same lap.
This was a rare strategic play from the British team. Norris led just 1.4 seconds.
Red Bull served Verstappen in 3.3 seconds, but McLaren was faster, changing Norris’ four tires in just 2.3 seconds, returning to the pit lane with about half the overlap.
A slightly ahead Verstappen stopped his line from leaving the pit lane as the exit swayed to the left. It had the effect of forcing Norris to choose to filter behind him or run on the grass. Britton chose the latter, but it had no effect and dropped him second anyway.
Both drivers loudly argued about the points surrounding team radio, but the stewards decided that no investigation was needed.
The gap was stable between the top three, extending the opening phase of the second stint to around three seconds.
However, by lap 34, the piastry was sufficient. He put his legs down, put together some personal sectors, and by lap 40 he was within 0.6 seconds of his teammates.
“I think there’s a pace to get a Max,” Piastri said two times.
The team replied that Norris was moving as fast as possible, but McLaren left two cars in place.
Norris came together in replying to his personal best sectors, but it wasn’t enough to get close to Verstappen. After pausing in his attack, Piastri doubled his efforts, reaching within half a second of his sister car, but around this narrow truck, even the Doctor was not enough to pass on an equal machine.
With two McLaren cars fighting between themselves, Verstappen was free to set his own pace and won the first victory of the season in 1.4 seconds.
“It was tough,” he said. “Press very hard, especially in the final set.
“The two McLarens were pushing me very hard.
“I’m incredibly happy. This weekend started out with something very tough, but we didn’t give up. We continued to improve our cars. Today was in the best shape.”
Norris was locked up in the final chicane on the final lap and cut the corner – a radio piastry with “sakky” – but the British kept the place to finish just 0.7 seconds ahead of his teammates.
“I think we just lost yesterday,” he said. “Max drove a good race today. There was no mistake, and today it wasn’t too similar.”
He described his break-in with Verstappen in the pit lane as a racing incident.
“He was still a long way off,” he said. “Max is the last guy who thinks I’ll give you the space. In a good way, in a racing way.”
Piastri came in third in the track, which makes passing difficult.
“I felt like I had a really strong pace. If I had the track position, I could have got a Max, but unfortunately that’s what happens when you come in behind,” he said.
“At least I asked the question. I think it was a fair response. I think it was a good race. That’s how we wanted to go to the race.”
The top six remained unchanged from the starting position, with Charles LeClair taking fourth place over Mercedes teammates George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton passed Isac Hajar in seventh place on six laps six, with both drivers holding those spots until the end of the race, the latter earning his first point in Formula 1.
Alex Albon and Oliver Baerman finished where they started in 9th and 10th place to score the final points for the Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso led local favourite Yuki Tsunoda in his Red Bull Racing debut, winning two places after the Japanese star ordered him after a lack of qualifying sessions.
Pierre Gasly ranked 13th over Carlos Sainz, Jack Doohan and Nico Hulkenberg.
Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Boltreto made their only stops later in the race, but no profits.
Lance was the last one, and Aston Martin laps down as the only driver to make two pit stops.