Last month, Formula 1 wrapped up in Australia, where Carlos Sainz emerged victorious just two weeks after undergoing an appendectomy. Meanwhile, Alex Albon suffered a crash in Free Practice 1 with Williams, forcing Williams to swap chassis with his teammate Logan Sargent, leaving Sargent without a car for the Australian Grand Prix. Fast forward to Japan, where Williams managed to repair Albon's damaged chassis, which is now being used by Sargent, while Albon continues to drive with Sargent's original chassis.
Japanese Grand Prix
Free Practice 1 kicked off in Japan, and all seemed fine until Sargent crashed into the barriers with the repaired chassis. Although the damage was severe, the chassis remained intact and could be reused after the team worked tirelessly to fix his Williams FW46. Sargent was running an updated aerodynamic package at the time, which was completely destroyed in the accident. The repairs forced Sargent to miss Free Practice 2 and revert to the older aerodynamic package.
The Suzuka Circuit in Japan is one of the most iconic tracks in Formula 1, known for its high-speed corners, stunning countryside backdrop, and passionate fans. In Q1, the Red Bulls dominated as expected, easily navigating the high curbs of the final chicane. Lando Norris and his McLaren appeared somewhat stiff, while Yuki Tsunoda impressed early in his home race. Valtteri Bottas secured P8, offering some optimism for the Alfa Romeo team.被淘汰的五ä½è½¦æ‰‹åˆ†åˆ«æ˜¯ï¼šLance Stroll（P16）ã€Pierre Gasly（P17）ã€Kevin Magnussen（P18）ã€Logan Sargent（P19ï¼‰å’Œå‘¨å† å®‡ï¼ˆP20）。Stroll was particularly frustrated with his Q1 elimination, as his teammate Fernando Alonso qualified P2, splitting the Red Bulls.
Q2 was tight at the top, with Sergio Pérez finishing P2, just 0.012 seconds behind Max Verstappen, possibly one of Pérez's best laps of the season so far. Yuki Tsunoda advanced to Q3 in P10 at his home race.被淘汰的五ä½è½¦æ‰‹æ˜¯ï¼šDaniel Ricciardo（P11）ã€Nico Hülkenberg（P12）ã€Valtteri Bottas（P13）ã€Alex Albon（P14）和Esteban Ocon（P15）。In Q3, there wasn't much drama, but it did set the top 10 grid positions for the race. Verstappen qualified P1, Pérez only 0.066 seconds behind in P2, followed by Lando Norris (P3), Carlos Sainz (P4), Fernando Alonso (P5), Oscar Piastri (P6), Lewis Hamilton (P7), Charles Leclerc (P8), George Russell (P9), and Yuki Tsunoda (P10).
As the cars lined up for the Japanese Grand Prix, the track temperature was higher than it had been all weekend. Higher temperatures increase tire wear, and the Suzuka Circuit is already tough on tires. This year, Japan was considered a two-stop race. Verstappen got off to a strong start and led comfortably into the first corner. Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo collided in Turn 2, triggering a red flag. Ricciardo veered right to avoid Stroll, and Albon's front-left wheel collided with Ricciardo's rear-right wheel. Both cars hit the tire barrier to the right of Turn 2.
The restart was based on the first sector times of the remaining cars, which benefited Nico Hülkenberg and Valtteri Bottas, each gaining two positions. Teams are allowed to change tires during a red flag stoppage. Verstappen fitted a new set of medium tires after starting on the soft. Mercedes put both Lewis and George on the hard tire to maximize their stint duration. After the red flag, the cars drove back to the starting grid from the pit lane and restarted on lap 3 with a standing start.
From the restart, Verstappen got away well and had an 0.8-second lead halfway through the lap. Hülkenberg struggled to get off the line on the restart and dropped from 10th to 17th. Zhou entered the pits on lap 7 but returned on lap 11 and stayed stationary for a long time. He eventually retired on lap 12 due to a transmission issue. There were some exciting midfield battles, such as Logan Sargent overtaking Pierre Gasly into Turn 1 on lap 11. On lap 13, Tsunoda passed Gasly around the outside of Turn 6 in a bold move that stuck. Verstappen pitted from P1 on lap 16 and came out in P3, but it didn’t take long for Verstappen to pass Russell, who was struggling on the hard tire Mercedes fitted at the red flag stoppage. Russell was soon passed by Norris and Pérez, and Sainz passed Hamilton as Mercedes' early hard tire choice began to look questionable. Verstappen passed Leclerc for the lead into Turn 1 on lap 21. Leclerc was on an old set of medium tires, trying to hang on as long as possible to switch to the hard tire for the remainder of the race.
On lap 22, Leclerc ran wide on a curb, allowing Pérez to pass, and Norris ended up closely behind Leclerc as he rejoined the track. Both Leclerc and Norris pitted at the end of lap 22. By lap 29, Verstappen had a 10.5-second lead over Pérez in P2. Piastri, Pérez, Alonso, and Verstappen all pitted for the hard tire to go to the end of the race, placing Alonso in P8, Pérez in P5, Verstappen in P2, and Sainz in the lead but needing to pit soon. Sainz eventually pitted on lap 36 and came out in P7. On lap 40, Logan Sargent went off into the gravel, bringing out a brief yellow flag in Sector 2. Sargent was able to reverse back onto the track and continue.
Carlos Sainz moved up a few positions as Hamilton and Russell pitted in front of him. Sainz then passed Norris into Turn 1 on lap 43 and began chasing down his teammate, Charles Leclerc. Sainz passed Leclerc into Turn 1 on lap 43 for P3. The race ended on lap 53 with Verstappen winning by 12.5 seconds over Pérez in P2, and Sainz rounding out the podium in P3. Yuki Tsunoda finished in P10, the last points-paying position, becoming the first Japanese driver to score points at the Japanese Grand Prix since Kamui Kobayashi in 2012.
Chinese Grand Prix
After a week off, F1 returned to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix for the first time since 2019. The weekend was unique as it was the first Sprint weekend of the year. There will be six Sprint weekends this year, and the schedule differs significantly. A normal F1 weekend includes Free Practice 1 on Friday morning, Free Practice 2 on Friday afternoon, Free Practice 3 on Saturday morning, qualifying on Saturday afternoon, and the Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. For Sprint weekends, the schedule includes Free Practice 1 on Friday morning, Sprint Shootout qualifying on Friday afternoon, the Sprint Race on Saturday morning, qualifying for the Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon, and the Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. The Sprint Race is a shortened version of the main race, taking place on a Sprint weekend. Sprint Shootout qualifying follows the same three-round format as regular qualifying, eliminating the bottom five drivers in SQ1 and SQ2, with SQ3 determining the top 10. However, all drivers must use the medium tire in SQ1 and SQ2 and the soft tire in SQ3, with each session being shorter than regular qualifying. SQ stands for Sprint Qualifying.
Shanghai's track features a massive 270-degree Turn 1 that's slightly downhill, followed by a sharp hairpin at Turn 2. The unique layout surprised everyone this year as sparks from the cars caused a grass fire during Free Practice 1. The fire was reignited during SQ1, but it was quickly extinguished. Sprint Shootout qualifying started dry, with a 60% chance of rain predicted. Drivers scrambled to set competitive times before the rain arrived. Perez, Norris, and Verstappen topped the time sheets in SQ1. Russell struggled but avoided elimination. Gasly, Ocon, Albon, Tsunoda, and Sargent were eliminated in SQ1. At the end of SQ1, sparks reignited the grass fire, but it was quickly put out.
SQ2 began with rain imminent. Drivers managed to get one lap each before the rain arrived. Russell, Magnussen, Hülkenberg, Ricciardo, and Stroll were eliminated in SQ2, while Zhou impressively finished P10, Bottas P7, and Leclerc P2 split the Red Bulls. SQ3 started on a wet track with steady rain. All drivers fitted intermediate tires, designed for light to moderate rain. Drivers struggled initially but adapted after a few laps. Alonso set the fastest time, but Hamilton's performance stood out. Norris delivered an incredible lap at the end of the session, beating everyone by 1.261 seconds. The Sprint Race lineup was Norris, Hamilton, Alonso, Verstappen, Sainz, Pérez, Leclerc, Piastri, Bottas, and Zhou. Zhou's P10 finish delighted the local crowd.
The Sprint Race in China lasted 19 laps. Everyone started on the medium tire except Russell, who started on the soft in P11. At the start, Hamilton accelerated well and was side by side with Norris into Turn 1. Hamilton took an aggressive line on the inside, forcing Norris to either back out or run wide. Norris ran wide and fell back, allowing Hamilton to lead. Verstappen struggled initially with his hybrid battery but soon overtook Sainz. By lap 7, Verstappen closed in on Alonso and passed him into Turn 15. Verstappen quickly reduced the gap to Hamilton to 1.8 seconds. By lap 11, Alonso held up Sainz, Perez, and Leclerc. Sainz attempted to pass Alonso on lap 16, touching wheels and allowing Perez to slip past both into P3. Alonso punctured his front right tire, drove slowly into the pit lane, and retired. Verstappen won, Hamilton held P2, and Perez rounded out the podium.
Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix started predictably with the usual suspects at the top. Lewis Hamilton, who had performed well in the Sprint events, surprisingly exited Q1 in P18 after struggling with the car setup in the dry. Hülkenberg surprised with a strong P6 in Q1, while his teammate was eliminated in P17. Pérez narrowly qualified into Q2 in P15. Zhou, Magnussen, Hamilton, Tsunoda, and Sargent were eliminated in Q1. Q2 began with both McLarens showing impressive pace. Sainz crashed exiting the final corner, damaging his front wing, but continued after a red flag. Stroll, Ricciardo, Ocon, Albon, and Gasly were eliminated in Q2, with Bottas and Hülkenberg surprisingly advancing to Q3. Q3 was straightforward with Verstappen qualifying P1, Pérez P2, Alonso P3, Norris P4, Piastri P5, Leclerc P6, Sainz P7, Russell P8, Hülkenberg P9, and Bottas P10.
The Chinese Grand Prix began with Verstappen getting a great start and leading into Turn 1. Alonso passed Perez into Turn 1, but Perez reclaimed P2 on lap 5. Both Ferraris were initially passed by Russell and Hülkenberg but managed to pass Hülkenberg by lap 1. Russell did a commendable job holding off the Ferraris. Leclerc passed Russell on lap 9 around the outside of Turn 1, and Sainz passed Russell on lap 11 after his pit stop. Early pit stops began around lap 9 but weren't without drama. There was a close call between Bottas and Tsunoda as Tsunoda nearly collided with Bottas exiting his pit box. Gasly received a penalty during his first pit stop when he tried to leave before receiving clearance, and his right rear wheel fell off, knocking over one of his mechanics.
Valtteri Bottas retired on lap 21 at Turn 11 due to an engine failure, triggering a virtual safety car. Leclerc and Norris took advantage of the virtual safety car to switch to the hard tire. The incident was upgraded to a full safety car when marshals couldn't move the car without a tow truck. The full safety car bunched up the field, and Verstappen led the restart on lap 27. Before the restart, Stroll collided with Ricciardo, who was slowing down with the pack. Ricciardo and Stroll continued despite the incident. On lap 27, Magnussen caused damage to Tsunoda's left rear wheel, forcing him out of the race. These incidents triggered another full safety car to clean up debris.
The race restarted on lap 31 with Verstappen leading Norris, Leclerc, Pérez, Alonso, and Sainz. Ricciardo was 9th on the restart but quickly fell behind. Ricciardo retired due to damage from the collision with Stroll. Pérez passed Leclerc into Turn 6 for P3 on lap 39. Hamilton climbed through the field and reached P8 in the closing stages. Alonso made a late pit stop, dropping him to P12, but he moved up on fresher tires, passing Hamilton for P8 on lap 49. Alonso continued pushing and passed Piastri for P7 on lap 50. Zhou Guanyu passed Sargent on lap 50 and Magnussen on lap 54 for P14, delighting the Chinese fans. Zhou became the first Chinese driver to complete a Formula 1 Grand Prix in China. Verstappen won, followed by Norris in P2 and Pérez in P3.
Around The Bend
In May, Formula 1 will host three races: the Miami Grand Prix, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, and the Monaco Grand Prix. The Miami Grand Prix is scheduled for May 3-5, with Ferrari set to debut a blue livery in tribute to the Ferrari North American Racing Team (NART) of the 1960s. Miami is Logan Sargent's home race, as he hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Miami will also host race 2 of the F1 Academy development series. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix returns to the calendar after being canceled last year due to historic flooding in the region. Finally, the legendary Monaco Grand Prix will take place the following weekend from May 24-26. May promises to be an exciting month for F1 with plenty to look forward to, perhaps even some surprise announcements regarding the driver market.
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