Red Bull win the Constructors’ Championship for the sixth time, McLaren record their first double podium at Suzuka since 2003 and Hamilton overtakes Raikkonen for second in the most laps raced list. Here are the facts and statistics from the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix!
VERSTAPPEN WINS THE 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
Max Verstappen took another step towards winning the championship with his 13th victory of the year at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. The only driver to have won more than 13 races in a year is Verstappen himself, who did so in 2022.
Verstappen became the eighth driver to have won multiple F1 races at Suzuka, while his podium made him the fifth driver – after Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Mika Hakkinen – to have taken five podium finishes at the venue.
Verstappen won the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix by 19.387 seconds, which is the third largest winning margin at Suzuka – behind his own record winning margin in 2022 and Sebastian Vettel’s margin in 2012.
With Verstappen crossing the finish line, he became only the second driver – after Lewis Hamilton – to have finished 35 consecutive Grands Prix. Hamilton holds the record for most consecutive finishes, with 48.
Having led 51 laps of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen has now led 712 laps in the 2023 season. It puts him second for most laps led in a single year, 28 laps away from overtaking Sebastian Vettel’s record total from 2011.
After the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen leads the Drivers’ Championship by 177 points, which is a new record for the biggest points lead ever held.
Verstappen set the fastest lap at the Japanese Grand Prix for the first time in his career, making Suzuka the 20th different circuit at which he has set the fastest lap of a race. He’s the fifth driver to set the fastest lap at 20 different venues, after Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.
RED BULL WIN THE CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
Red Bull secured the Constructors’ Championship for the sixth time in their history at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.
Having also won last year’s title, Red Bull became the fourth team – after Ferrari, Williams and McLaren – to have won consecutive Constructors’ Championships on multiple occasions. The team also won the title for four years in a row between 2010 and 2013.
Red Bull lead the Constructors’ Championship by 318 points after the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix – a new record for the largest points lead in the teams’ standings.
Verstappen’s points saw Red Bull overtake Ferrari as the team to have scored the most points at the Suzuka circuit.
Verstappen’s win was Red Bull’s sixth at Suzuka – putting them one away from equalling Ferrari and McLaren as the team with the most victories at the circuit.
BOTH McLARENs ON THE SUZUKA PODIUM
Max Verstappen was joined on the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix podium by the two McLaren drivers, who secured McLaren’s first double podium result at Suzuka since 2003. This was the team’s first double podium result since their 1-2 finish at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris finished on the podium for the fourth time in 2023, equalling his personal best for most podium finishes in a single season.
The points scored by Norris at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix saw him overtake Nico Hulkenberg as the driver to have scored the most points without ever winning a Grand Prix.
Norris’ second place saw Britain become the nation with the most podium finishes at Suzuka. The 22nd top three finish for the nation saw them overtake Germany for the most podiums at the track.
Oscar Piastri became the fifth driver to record his maiden Formula 1 podium finish at Suzuka, after Roberto Moreno and Aguri Suzuki in 1990, Mika Hakkinen in 1993 and Kamui Kobayashi in 2012.
Norris and Piastri’s podium finishes saw McLaren extend their records of most podium finishes at the Japanese Grand Prix and most podiums at Suzuka. The team now has 27 top three results at the Japanese Grand Prix and 24 top three finishes at Suzuka.
This was the first podium finish at Suzuka for both Norris and Piastri, taking the number of podium finishers at the track since its first appearance in 1987 to 40.
With Norris and Piastri completing 106 laps between them, McLaren became the first team to have raced 3,000 laps at Suzuka since the venue joined the Formula 1 calendar in 1987.
McLaren scored more points at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix (33) than they did at Suzuka in the previous 10 years combined (23).
IN THE TOP TEN
Finishing fourth at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc became the 14th driver to have scored 1,000 points in Formula 1 history. His points also ensured Monaco became the 11th nation to have scored 1,000 points in F1. Louis Chiron is the only other Monegasque driver to have picked up points.
This was the third consecutive race in which Leclerc has finished in fourth place. It’s the first time since the Austrian Grand Prix that Leclerc has not lost any positions from where he started.
On Lap 33 of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton overtook Kimi Raikkonen as the driver to have raced the second most Grand Prix laps in Formula 1 history.
Finishing fifth, Hamilton maintained his record of finishing in the top five on every occasion that he’s crossed the finish line at Suzuka.
Fernando Alonso finished eighth at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. This is the first time since 2010 and 2011 that the Spaniard has picked up points on consecutive visits to Suzuka.
Alonso’s eighth place ensured this was the eighth consecutive Japanese Grand Prix in which the Silverstone-based team scored points.
With both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly scoring in the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix – in ninth and tenth respectively – this was only the second time in the last nine races that both Alpine drivers have finished in the top ten.
2023 is the second consecutive season in which Alpine have finished with both cars in the points at the Japanese Grand Prix. It’s a feat which the team achieved only once in the six previous Suzuka races.
THE OTHER FINISHERS
Liam Lawson finished where he started in 11th place, making the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix the first race in which he has not finished in a better position than where he started.
Yuki Tsunoda finished 12th, recording his best home race result to date.
With Zhou Guanyu being the top Alfa Romeo finisher in 13th, the former Sauber team’s point-less streak at Suzuka – which dates back to 2014 – continued.
Finishing 14th, Nico Hulkenberg gained four positions from where he started at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. It’s the most positions he has gained in a race so far in 2023.
Of his six classified finishes at Suzuka, this is the first time that Hulkenberg has crossed the finish line in a position outside of the points.
This was Haas’ third consecutive visit to the Japanese Grand Prix in which they failed to score.
THE RETIREES
Sergio Perez retired from the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, before rejoining the race to serve his time penalties and then retiring again. This was Perez’s first retirement since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix and his first DNF at the Japanese Grand Prix since 2012.
Perez’s retirement means that every team has now recorded at least one DNF during the 2023 season.
This was the first time since 2005 that the team-mate of the winner at Suzuka failed to finish the race.
Valtteri Bottas recorded a retirement for the second consecutive race having not failed to finish any of the previous 17 races.
Bottas’ retirement made this the fifth consecutive Japanese Grand Prix in which the driver starting 16th has not been classified in the final order.
Lance Stroll failed to finish the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, recording his first DNF at Suzuka since his maiden season in 2017.
Stroll’s retirement marked the Silverstone-based team’s first retirement at the Japanese Grand Prix since both drivers retired under their Force India guise back in 2010.
Both Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant retired from the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, recording Williams’ first double DNF at Suzuka since 1995.
Albon has failed to finish each of the last two Suzuka races.