Verstappen wins from pole for the 30th time, while Tsunoda records the first home point for a Japanese driver in 12 years. Here are the facts and statistics from the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix.
VERSTAPPEN WINS THE 2024 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
Max Verstappen secured his third win of the 2024 season at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, leading home a Red Bull 1-2. This was Verstappen’s third consecutive win at Suzuka, making him only the second driver – after Michael Schumacher between 2000 and 2002 – to win three Suzuka races in a row.
Verstappen is the fourth driver in total – after Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton – to record as many as three victories at Suzuka.
Verstappen recorded Red Bull’s seventh victory at Suzuka, seeing the team equal Ferrari and McLaren as the constructors with the most victories at the track.
Recording his 30th victory from pole position, Verstappen overtook Ayrton Senna for fourth on the list of most F1 wins from pole.
The Netherlands equals Finland for fifth on the list of most Grands Prix won by a nation as a result of Verstappen’s Suzuka win. This was the country’s 57th victory, with all 57 of their victories being recorded by Verstappen. Finland’s 57 wins are shared between Keke Rosberg, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, Heikki Kovalainen and Valtteri Bottas.
The 2024 Japanese Grand Prix was the 11th consecutive Grand Prix in which Verstappen has led at least one lap. It makes it only the 13th time that a driver has led laps in 11 consecutive races.
During the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen became the fourth driver to lead as many as 3,000 Grand Prix laps during their Formula 1 career.
ON THE PODIUM
Sergio Perez finished as runner-up to his team-mate for the third time in the last four races, securing Red Bull’s fourth 1-2 finish at the Japanese Grand Prix. The team also recorded 1-2 results at Suzuka in 2010, 2013 and 2022.
Perez recorded the 38th podium finish of his career, overtaking Riccardo Patrese for 24th in the all-time list of most podium finishes.
Carlos Sainz finished in third place at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, maintaining his record of finishing on the podium in every race which he has started so far this year.
This was Sainz’s first podium finish at Suzuka, making it the 16th different circuit at which he has finished in the top three. Sainz is the 41st different driver to have finished on the podium at Suzuka since it joined the F1 calendar in 1987.
HOME POINTS FOR TSUNODA
Finishing in tenth place, Yuki Tsunoda became the first Japanese driver to score a point in the Japanese Grand Prix since Kamui Kobayashi finished on the podium at Suzuka in 2012.
Tsunoda is the fifth Japanese driver to score a point in the Japanese Grand Prix after Satoru Nakajima (1987 & 1990), Aguri Suzuki (1990), Takuma Sato (2002, 2003 & 2004) and Kamui Kobayashi (2010 & 2012).
Having also scored at the Australian Grand Prix, this is the first time Tsunoda scored points in two consecutive races since the 2023 Australian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix.
This was the first point for a driver for the Red Bull junior team at Suzuka since the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix.
IN THE POINTS
Charles Leclerc finished fourth in the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, finishing off the podium for the first time since the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, in which he also finished fourth.
Leclerc gained four places in the race – the most positions he has gained since the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix. It’s the first time he finished in a better position than where he started at Suzuka.
With Charles Leclerc third and Carlos Sainz fourth, this was the first time since the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix that both Ferrari drivers finished in the top four at Suzuka.
Lando Norris finished fifth in the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, recording a second consecutive top five finish.
With sixth place, Fernando Alonso remained in the group of drivers who’ve scored points in every 2024 race to date. Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the only other drivers to have done so.
Alonso recorded his best result at Suzuka since finishing fourth in the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix.
Completing every lap of the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, Alonso moves up to second in the list of most laps raced at Suzuka. He sits 78 laps behind Michael Schumacher at the top of the list.
Crossing the finish line at Suzuka for the 15th time, Alonso equalled Jenson Button’s record of most finishes at the Suzuka circuit.
George Russell finished seventh for a second consecutive year at the Japanese Grand Prix, equalling his best result at Suzuka to date.
Although he was overtaken by George Russell on the last lap, eighth place for Oscar Piastri means that he remains in a small group of drivers who’ve scored on every appearance at Suzuka. The other three drivers who have done so are Stefan Johansson, Cristiano Da Matta and Nicholas Latifi. All three appeared at the track only once during their Formula 1 career.
Finishing in ninth place at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix – eight races ago – remains the last time that Lewis Hamilton recorded a top six finish.
Of races which he’s finished at Suzuka, ninth place in the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix marks the first time that Hamilton has finished in a position outside of the top five.
Hamilton scored points at Suzuka for the 13th time, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record for the most points-scoring appearances at the track – and equalling Schumacher and Jenson Button for the most top ten finishes here.
This was the first time since 2013 that neither Mercedes driver finished in the top six at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The 2024 Japanese Grand Prix marked the first time since 2002 that no driver starting outside of the top ten scored a point at Suzuka.
THE OTHER FINISHERS
With Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg finishing 13th and 11th respectively, the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix was only the second Grand Prix of the season, after Bahrain, in which neither Haas driver scored points.
Driving from 18th to 13th, Magnussen made up five positions in the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix – the most of any driver.
With 13th place, Magnussen recorded his best result at Suzuka since finishing eighth in the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix, while team-mate Hulkenberg recorded his best result at the track since 2016.
Lance Stroll finished the Japanese Grand Prix in 12th place. It is the first time he has finished a Grand Prix without scoring since finishing 11th in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas finished in 14th place for a second consecutive race. This was the 200th Grand Prix finish of his career. Bottas is the 11th driver to have crossed the finish line on 200 occasions.
This was the sixth consecutive Grand Prix in which Bottas finished in a worse position than where he started.
Finishing 15th in the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, this was Esteban Ocon’s first appearance at Suzuka in which he failed to score a point since finishing 21st in the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix.
THE RETIREES
The 2024 Japanese Grand Prix was red-flagged on the first lap due to a collision between Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon. It made this the fourth Suzuka race to be red-flagged, after 1994, 2014 and 2022.
Ricciardo recorded the Red Bull junior team’s first DNF at Suzuka since Carlos Sainz retired – also on the opening lap – of the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix. Those are the team’s only two DNFs at the track since 2012.
This marked Ricciardo’s first retirement from his 11 appearances at Suzuka. It was his first DNF since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Albon failed to finish for a third consecutive appearance at the Japanese Grand Prix. His fourth place finish with Red Bull in 2019 remains the only time that he has reached the chequered flag at Suzuka.
Albon’s retirement marked Williams’ fourth DNF in the last three Suzuka races.
Zhou Guanyu became the third retirement of the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, pulling into the pits with gearbox issues. He recorded his and the Sauber team’s first retirement since the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.