Max Verstappen wins, Oscar Piastri third at F1 Japanese Grand Prix

Australian rookie Oscar Piastri has secured his first podium in Formula 1, finishing third at Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen all but sealed his third consecutive drivers’ championship with victory at Suzuka, while Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris finished second.

Verstappen’s victory also secured the F1 constructors’ championship for Red Bull — their sixth title and second in a row.

After a brilliant qualifying session the day before where he qualified second, Piastri might have dreamed about an unlikely victory at the start of Sunday. 

But after dropping back to third on the first lap and clearly having less race pace than Verstappen and Norris, Piastri drove professionally to secure a career-best third.

“It feels pretty special, definitely. I’ll remember for a very, very long time,” he said.

“I can’t thank the team enough for giving me this opportunity. There’s not many people who get this opportunity … and I’ve managed to have it in my first season.

Verstappen and Piastri both got away well, with the Dutchman needing to cover off the McLaren rookie.

That early squabble gave Norris, starting third, a clear run to the first corner, with the Brit threatening to take the lead.

Norris was slightly ahead after the first corner but had to yield the lead back to Verstappen who was on the inside line for turn two.

The safety car was called out on the opening lap following several minor collisions further back in the field leaving debris strewn across the circuit.

Racing resumed at the start of lap five and set about extending his lead.

A virtual safety car on lap 14 for debris came at the perfect time for Piastri, who was coming in for his pit stop.

With all cars on the track going slower, Piastri’s pit stop gave him a net gain over his rivals.

By the time the leaders had completed their first round of pit stops four laps later, Piastri had leapfrogged his teammate with a five-second advantage.

With fresher tyres, Norris was able to chip away at the young Australian and was on his rear wing by lap 26, with McLaren making the call to have their drivers swap positions on lap 27.

Meanwhile, Verstappen drove off into the distance, establishing a lead well over 10 seconds.

Piastri came in for his second stop at the end of lap 35, protecting himself from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc who came in a lap earlier.

The top three maintained the status quo for the remainder of the grand prix.

Piastri moves into ninth in the drivers’ championship with the result.

Red Bull win constructors’ championship, Verstappen on the cusp

Red Bull are F1 constructors’ champions for the second year in a row, and sixth all time, with Max Verstappen’s victory.

The team needed to score one more point than Mercedes and not be outscored by 24 points from Ferrari.

Sergio Perez retired from the race in Japan, but Verstappen’s win and extra point for the fastest lap was enough to secure the title.

“Unbelievable weekend and to win here was great, the car was working well on every compound,” Verstappen said after the race.

“But the most important was to win the constructors’ so well done to everyone back at the factory. We are having an incredible year.”

Verstappen can win his third consecutive drivers’ championship in two weeks’ time in Qatar.

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