There were two questions ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Can Antonelli beat Russell again, and can Hamilton get ahead of Leclerc again?
In qualifying, Antonelli grabbed the first spot on the starting grid, while Hamilton was crawling behind Leclerc throughout both practices and qualifying. Russell appeared to be battling with the car’s handling after a last-second setup change. Meanwhile, Leclerc qualified fourth, while Hamilton was only sixth.
The answers are yes for the young titan Antonelli, and no for the dinosaur Hamilton.
FIA reduced the per-lap recharge limit for qualifying in Japan from 9MJ to 8MJ. In theory, this change should force teams to worry less about managing electrical energy and increase the role of driver skill during a single flying lap. It’s led to qualifying becoming less about drivers pushing the limits of grip and physics, and more about the limitations of available energy. F1 has evolved so that, in qualifying, the fastest drivers are punished, while those who drive within themselves can produce faster lap times.
One proposed solution is an even more drastic reduction in the limit on electrical energy recharge. For now, while racing may look occasionally spectacular on TV, it doesn’t feel as Formula One.
Two shocks in qualifying.
Bearman exited in Q3, lining up only eighteenth, and Lindblad, with a Racing Bulls car, knocked out Verstappen, the Red Bull driver, in Q2.
Isack Hadjar qualified an honourable eighth. Grid position is usually king at the Suzuka Circuit.
McLaren’s season is starting to look better. With Piastri in third and Norris in fifth, they had a better shot at the front end at the start.
Pierre Gasly qualified seventh, while Bortoleto ninth, and Lindblad tenth.
The race.
The star was vivid once again.
Piastri took the lead, while Antonelli dropped back to sixth, behind Hamilton.
Leclerc gained two places and took the second position at the start.
Russel took back the second place at the beginning of lap 4, cruising past Leclerc seemingly effortlessly. Meanwhile Antonelli was hunting down Norris patiently.
Verstappen wrestled his car to eighth by lap six.
Russell took the lead at the end of lap eight, but Piastri took the lead back immediately on the starting straight.
Antonelli passed Norris on lap twelve and set his new target: Leclerc. At the end of the n lap fifteenth Antonelli passed, but Leclerc got the position back on the straight at the start of lap sixteenth.
Norris pitted on lap seventeen, changing his medium tyres for hard ones, unleashing the carousel of pit stops. Leclerc pitted, and Piastri pitted, losing racing positions.
Russell eventually pitted on lap twenty-two and immediately afterwards Olie Berman crashed into the barriers. Bad luck for Russell, and a shot at glory for Antonelli. Hamilton took advantage of the safety car as well and found himself in an unexpected fourth position ahead of Leclerc.
The safety car was pulled back on lap twenty-eight of fifty-three and the race restarted with Antonelli at the lead, followed by Piastri, Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc, Norris, Gasly, Verstappen, Lawson and Bortoleto in tenth.
Hamilton passed Russell on the restart, but instead of getting ahead, on lap thirty-seven dropped back behind Leclerc.
Meanwhile, Antonelli slowly built a solid lead at the front, on lap forty-one holding over eight seconds’ advantage.
Leclerc took third on lap forty-two, while Hamilton lost another place on the next lap to Russell. Eventually Norris passed Hamilton, and Hamilton passed Norris back for fifth. Somewhat like a video game. I’m not sure how much fun the drivers really have. From Formula Net Zero to “battery world championship,” things are not looking bright for F1 with the current politics and regulations.
Russell took third on lap fifty-one, but Leclerc came back fighting and got the position back. Norris took fifth from Hamilton with a brave move on the penultimate lap. Horrible weekend for the British seven-time world champion. Hamilton got lucky with the safety car, had all the cards in his sleeve, yet finished three places behind his teammate. Perhaps it’s time to let the youngsters to have fun and embrace retirement.
Another forgettable weekend and an invisible drive drove Verstappen, who finished in eighth, behind Gasly. With Hadjar in twelfth, it was another blood, sweat and no joy weekend for the energy drink team.
Antonelli finished with a massive fourteen-second advantage and took the lead in the championship.
The positive outcome of the weekend is that we have three drivers from three different teams on the podium. McLaren is back in the game, and Piastri had his first laps of the season, even more, finished second and two places ahead of his teammate.
Coming up: an unplanned one-month working vacation for the teams and two fewer races on the calendar.
Next time they are racing in Miami at the beginning of May with a Sprint race as well.
Japanese GP Result:
01 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
02 Oscar Piastri McLaren +13.7
03 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +15.2
04 George Russell Mercedes +15.7
05 Lando Norris McLaren +23.4
06 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +25.0
07 Pierre Gasly Alpine +32.3
08 Max Verstappen Red Bull +32.6
09 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +50.1
10 Esteban Ocon Haas +51.2
11 Nico Hulkenberg Audi +52.2
12 Isack Hadjar Red Bull +56.1
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +59.0
14 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +59.8
15 Carlos Sainz Williams +65.0
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine +65.7
17 Sergio Perez Cadillac +92.4
18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1 lap
19 Alex Albon Williams +1 lap
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac +1 lap
Did not finish:
21 Lance Stroll Aston Martin – water pressure
22 Oliver Bearman Haas – crash
#F1 #FormulaOne #JapanGP
