F1 – Formula 1 moved to Suzuka this weekend, an historic circuit which would represent another challenge under the new regulations.
The unique figure-of-eight layout comprises a mix of high-speed sections and technical corners, as well as the famous 130R turn. Mercedes came in to the race weekend full of confidence, not least Kimi Antonelli after his debut win last time out in China.
Whilst he repeated that feat in Japan, remarkably becoming the youngest ever leader in the Drivers’ Championship in the history of F1, his victory came with a fairly large dollop of luck and there were a few surprises along the way further down the grid.
Suzuka has always been a happy hunting ground for Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman having won each of the last four years. However, based on results so far this season, there was little hope for a Red Bull win, with many expectations that Mercedes would carry on their dominant run of form. Qualifying backed up that theory, with Antonelli placing the Mercedes on pole, with his teammate Russell 0.3 seconds behind alongside him on the front row. McLaren showed some promise, with Piastri third and Norris fifth and Leclerc sitting in-between that particular papaya sandwich.
Hamilton in the other Ferrari qualified sixth, with Gasly and Hadjar completing the top eight. It was noteworthy that Verstappen was knocked out in Q2 by the supposed junior team of Racing Bulls with Lindblad in tenth.
After qualifying, Verstappen had some choice words for the media, clearly irritated by his car’s lack of performance. Time will tell how long it will take Red Bull to progress, but in the meantime, it seems their star driver will struggle to hide his frustrations.
The start of the race had plenty of drama, with both Mercedes struggling off the line. Antonelli was worst effected losing four places, with Russell dropping two. We are used to seeing incredible starts from the Ferrari pair, but it was McLaren who took the most advantage, with Piastri storming to the front and Norris gaining two places.
As the race settled with Piastri at the front and Leclerc second, Russell clawed a position back to sit third ahead of Norris, followed by Antonelli and Hamilton. That Mercedes progress continued with Russell taking second, and then had a brief stint in the lead before Piastri took it back just a corner later on lap eight. Antonelli also overtook Norris on lap 12.
The pit stop window opened up around lap 17, with everyone targeting a one stop plan, starting on the medium tyre and then going to the hard compound. Norris was the first to stop, followed by Leclerc on the following lap.
This was shortly followed by Piastri, then Russell. A Bearman incident on lap 22 caused a safety car, which turned out to be the deciding factor of the race. It acted as a major benefit to those who hadn’t stopped, specifically Antonelli and Hamilton. They were both able to stop and get ahead of the other front runners, with the stop during the safety car saving 10 seconds.
That meant that on resumption, Antonelli was leading, followed by Piastri, Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc, then Norris. Whilst Antonelli took advantage of clear air ahead of him and sped off into the distance, there was plenty of action behind him. There was an interesting battle between Leclerc and Hamilton, clearly showing that there were no team orders at Ferrari. Whilst Leclerc won that particular challenge, up ahead it looked promising for McLaren as Piastri looked more than comfortable in second place.
The overtaking yo-yo continued between Russell and Leclerc and similarly between Norris and Hamilton in the final laps of the race, but up ahead Antonelli was trouble-free for his second victory of the season.
He won by an impressive 14 seconds ahead of Piastri in second, with Leclerc taking the final podium position. Russell, Norris and Hamilton followed, with Gasly seventh, Verstappen eighth and Lawson and Ocon completing the top ten.
Given the timing of the safety car, Antonelli would likely feel fortunate with this victory and conversely Piastri somewhat unlucky. At the same time, there will be a sense at McLaren of real progress. The fact that they had a car in a position for a win shows some real promise for the Woking team after a difficult start to the season.
There is now a break in racing before F1 returns to Miami on May 3. Critically, that gives the teams five weeks to work on car development, which could have a major impact on the pecking order at the front. McLaren has already shown what can be achieved in just a few days between races, so we may well see significant changes at the top when racing returns in a few weeks.
* Laurence Jones is senior manager, Marketing and Communications, Bahrain International Circuit
l.jones@bic.com.bh
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