RED BULL JAPANESE GP DRIVER RATINGS MERCEDES FERRARI

Beyond the inevitable Verstappen, home hero Tsunoda stood out for us as he made his point (again) at the second Red Bull team

MAX VERSTAPPEN

Started 1st ------------------ Result 1st

Hardly his most vintage win; looked assured but never entirely secure. Nailed both start and restart, and preserved lead with consistent pace, but arguably drove within himself and let strategy do the work. Margin over Perez in qualifying and race not as gaping as previous 10/10 scores.

LANDO NORRIS

Started 3rd ------------ Result 5th

Early undercut was powerful, but he could not overcome degradation, which denied a podium chance. Beat Ferrari duo in qualifying with an excellent lap, but felt he was fighting a losing battle in race. Could have been more assertive in request to pit contrary to Leclerc to build tyre delta.

SERGIO PEREZ

Started 2nd -------- Result 2nd

Did his job as support act well, qualifying a scant 0.066s away from Verstappen and finishing just 12.5s off. Took too much out of medium tyres to make up for Norris undercut, but reeled off lap times on hards that were comparable with Verstappen’s. Early Degner 2 slip his only real mistake.

OSCAR PIASTRI

Started 6th ------------ Result 8th

Like last year, couldn’t match Norris for race pace as he was hit harder by tyre degradation. Undercut strategy proved less effective for him relative to team-mate when traffic limited his progress, and was being strung along by Alonso with DRS. Late error left him vulnerable to Russell.

LEWIS HAMILTON

Started 7th ------------ Result 9th

Team strategy cost Hamilton more than Russell, so willingly let his team-mate through. Disliked the hard tyre and felt early contact with Leclerc hindered him. Proved quicker than Russell on the medium stint at the end, but damage had already been done by poor opening stint.

FERNANDO ALONSO

Started 5th ------------ Result 6th

Reckoned this was in top-five of his weekend F1 showings (which would surely score a 10 if true! – ed). Maximised qualifying with fifth on grid, and squeezed every inch from soft tyres in first stint. Kept Piastri and Russell at bay at end with Sainz-like DRS gift, before scarpering as cars behind fought.

GEORGE RUSSELL

Started 9th ------------ Result 7th

Had a bit of a job on his hands dragging out his stint on the hard tyre early on as pace was poor, and lacked consistency on his second set of hard tyres. Came into the race on the last set of mediums, but clumsy initial effort to pass Piastri arguably cost him a shot at Alonso in sixth.

LANCE STROLL

Started 16th -- Result 12th

Weak qualifying set him back and consigned him to flailing about in the midfield. Final stint on soft tyres gave hope, but this petered out and left him vulnerable to Hulkenberg at the end. Frustration over lack of straightline speed traced to wing choice. Did not live up to his Melbourne form.

CHARLES LECLERC

Started 8th ------------ Result 4th

Lowly grid slot, but recovery on effectively a one-stopper was superb. Managed his medium tyres brilliantly with consistent laps, and pre-empted Norris’s second stop, which offered a chance at a podium. Hard-tyre stint also strong, but wisely didn’t interfere with Sainz to claim fourth.

PIERRE GASLY

Started 17th -- Result 16th

See Ocon, but with less gusto. Dumped out in Q1 and played second fiddle to his team-mate in race. Made some ground early on, but poor car could not be overcome in the longer term. Hardly a bad race, but didn’t quite reach the heights his team-mate managed with a cumbersome chariot.

CARLOS SAINZ

Started 4th ------------ Result 3rd Strong form continued with a patient yet aggressive performance. Shook out behind Norris and Russell after they undercut his opening pitstop, but waited for their tyres to wane to claim track position. Final stint was devastatingly fast, putting Norris and Leclerc to the sword.

ESTEBAN OCON

Started 15th Result 15th

Seems more on top of troubled Alpine than his team-mate. Vaulted his way up the order on the restart, but decision to employ hard tyres early on cost race pace and ultimately track position. Was involved in battles before stopping, proof of a valiant effort in tricky circumstances.

autosport.com/ driver-ratings