Last month in Australia, we witnessed Carlos Sainz clinching victory just two weeks after undergoing an appendectomy. It was an eventful race for Alex Albon too, as he crashed his Williams in Free Practice 1. This crash prompted Williams to swap chassis between Albon and his teammate Logan Sargent, leaving Sargent without a car for the Australian Grand Prix. Fast forward to Japan, where Williams managed to repair the damaged chassis from Albon's mishap in Australia, and this repaired chassis is now being utilized by Sargent, while Albon continues to drive Sargent's original chassis.
Japanese Grand Prix
Free Practice 1 commenced in Japan, and everything seemed fine until Logan Sargent collided with the barriers in the repaired chassis. Although the damage was significant, the chassis held together, allowing the team to fix Sargent's Williams FW46 with great effort. At the time, Sargent was testing an updated aerodynamic package, which was completely destroyed in the incident. These repairs meant Sargent missed Free Practice 2 and had to revert to an older aerodynamic package.
The Suzuka Circuit in Japan is iconic, featuring high-speed corners, stunning views of the Japanese countryside, and some of the best fans in Formula 1. In the first qualifying session (Q1), the Red Bulls continued their dominance, handling the high curbs better than other teams. Lando Norris and his McLaren appeared a bit stiff over these sections. Yuki Tsunoda performed impressively at his home track. Valtteri Bottas posted a time good enough for P8, providing a much-needed boost to the Stake/Sauber team. The bottom five eliminated in Q1 were Lance Stroll (P16), Pierre Gasly (P17), Kevin Magnussen (P18), Logan Sargent (P19), and Zhou Guanyu (P20). Stroll was disappointed with his Q1 elimination, especially as his teammate Fernando Alonso secured P2, sandwiching the Red Bulls.
Q2 was tight at the top. Sergio Perez narrowly missed out on P1, finishing only 0.012 seconds behind Max Verstappen. Yuki Tsunoda advanced to Q3, securing P10, thanks to his home crowd support. The bottom five eliminated in Q2 were Daniel Ricciardo (P11), Nico Hulkenberg (P12), Valtteri Bottas (P13), Alex Albon (P14), and Esteban Ocon (P15). Q3 didn't offer much drama but set the grid for the race. Max Verstappen qualified P1, Sergio Perez was only 0.066 seconds behind for 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 grid formed for the Japanese Grand Prix, the track temperature was higher than it had been all weekend. High temperatures increase tire wear, and the Suzuka Circuit is already tough on tires. This year, Japan was seen as a two-stop race. Verstappen launched cleanly at the start and led into the first corner. Unfortunately, Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo collided in turn 2, triggering a red flag. Ricciardo swerved to avoid Lance Stroll, and Albon's front left wheel clipped Ricciardo's rear right. 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 Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas, who each gained two positions. During a red flag stoppage, teams can change tires. Max fitted a new set of medium tires, while Mercedes put Lewis and George on the hard tire to stretch their stints. After the red flag, the cars returned to the starting grid for a standing start on lap 3.
From the restart, Verstappen built a 0.8-second lead by the halfway point. Nico Hulkenberg struggled at the restart and dropped from 10th to 17th. Zhou retired on lap 12 due to a transmission issue after stopping on lap 7. Midfield battles were intense, with Logan Sargent overtaking Pierre Gasly into turn 1 on lap 11. On lap 13, Tsunoda passed Gasly around turn 6, a bold move that paid off. Verstappen pitted from P1 on lap 16 and emerged in P3, quickly passing Russell, who was struggling on the hard tire fitted at the red flag stoppage. Russell was soon overtaken by Norris and Perez, and Sainz passed Hamilton as Mercedes' early hard tire choice looked questionable. Verstappen took the lead from Leclerc into turn 1 on lap 21. Leclerc stayed out longer on an old set of medium tires to switch to the hard later.
On lap 22, Leclerc ran wide on a curb, allowing Perez to pass. Norris closed in as Leclerc rejoined. Both Leclerc and Norris pitted at the end of lap 22. By lap 29, Verstappen had a 10.5-second lead over Perez in P2. Piastri, Perez, Alonso, and Verstappen switched to hard tires for the remainder of the race, putting Alonso in P8, Perez in P5, and Verstappen in P2 with Sainz leading but needing a tire change soon. Sainz pitted on lap 36 and came out in P7. On lap 40, Logan Sargent went off into the gravel, briefly bringing out a yellow flag in sector 2. Sargent reversed back onto the track and continued.
Carlos Sainz moved up as Hamilton and Russell pitted in front of him. Sainz passed Norris into turn 1 on lap 43 and began chasing his teammate Leclerc. Sainz passed Leclerc into turn 1 on lap 43 for P3. The race concluded on lap 53 with Verstappen winning by 12.5 seconds ahead of Perez in P2, and Sainz rounding out the podium in P3. Yuki Tsunoda finished in P10, scoring the final points-paying position and becoming the first Japanese driver to score points at the Japanese Grand Prix since Kamui Kobayashi in 2012.
Chinese Grand Prix
Following a week off, F1 returned to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix for the first time since 2019. The weekend featured a Sprint race, making it the first Sprint weekend of the year. There will be six Sprint weekends in total. The Sprint weekend schedule differs from the regular weekend, with Sprint Qualifying on Friday afternoon and the Sprint Race on Saturday morning. For the Sprint Qualifying, all drivers must use the medium tire in the first two sessions and the soft in the final session. This format provides a shorter qualifying experience compared to the traditional three-part qualifying.
Shanghai's track features a massive 270-degree turn 1 that leads into a quick hairpin at turn 2. The unique layout caught many by surprise when the grass caught fire during Free Practice 1 due to sparks from the cars bottoming out on the straight. Sprint Qualifying began dry with a 60% chance of rain. Drivers scrambled to set competitive times before the predicted rain arrived. Perez, Norris, and Verstappen topped the timesheets in SQ1. Russell struggled but avoided elimination. Gasly, Ocon, Albon, Tsunoda, and Sargent were eliminated in SQ1. Toward the end of SQ1, the grass caught fire again and was quickly extinguished.
SQ2 began with the rain imminent. Drivers managed to get one lap each before the rain intensified. Russell, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, and Stroll were eliminated. Zhou impressed with P10, Bottas with P7, and Leclerc split the Red Bulls in P2. SQ3 started on a wet track with the rain still falling. All drivers used intermediate tires, designed for light to moderate rain. The cars struggled initially, but drivers adapted after a few laps. Alonso led toward the end, but Norris produced a sensational lap, beating Hamilton by 1.261 seconds. The top 10 for the Sprint Race was Norris, Hamilton, Alonso, Verstappen, Sainz, Perez, Leclerc, Piastri, Bottas, and Zhou.
The Sprint Race in China lasted 19 laps. All drivers started on the medium tire except Russell, who started on the soft from P11. At the start, Hamilton surged ahead and was side by side with Norris into turn 1. Hamilton took the inside line, forcing Norris to either back out or run wide. Norris ran wide, dropping back. Hamilton led with Alonso close behind. Verstappen struggled initially, troubleshooting his hybrid system and engine settings. Once sorted, he quickly passed Sainz. By lap 7, Verstappen closed in on Alonso and passed him into turn 15. Verstappen rapidly closed the 1.8-second gap and passed Hamilton into turn 15 on lap 10. From lap 11, Alonso held up Sainz, Perez, and Leclerc. Sainz tried to pass Alonso on lap 16, touching wheels and allowing Perez to slip past into P3. Alonso punctured his front right tire and retired. Verstappen won with Hamilton second and Perez third.
Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix started predictably with Verstappen and Perez at the top. Lewis Hamilton's performance was surprising, failing to qualify for Q2 despite being second in the Sprint Qualifying. Hamilton qualified P18 due to issues with his car setup. Hulkenberg impressed with a P6 in Q1, while his teammate failed to qualify. Zhou, Magnussen, Hamilton, Tsunoda, and Sargent were eliminated in Q1. Q2 saw both McLarens performing well, but Sainz crashed exiting the final corner, damaging his front wing. Despite the red flag, Sainz continued qualifying. Stroll, Ricciardo, Ocon, Albon, and Gasly were eliminated, while Bottas and Hulkenberg advanced to Q3. Q3 was straightforward with Verstappen P1, Perez P2, Alonso P3, Norris P4, Piastri P5, Leclerc P6, Sainz P7, Russell P8, Hulkenberg P9, and Bottas P10.
The Chinese Grand Prix kicked off with Verstappen getting a strong start and leading into the first corner. Alonso attempted to pass Perez into turn 1 but couldn't maintain the position. Perez retook P2 in turn 6 on lap 5. Both Ferraris passed Russell and Hulkenberg early but managed to overtake Hulkenberg by lap 1. Russell held off the Ferraris effectively until Leclerc passed him on lap 9. Sainz followed suit on lap 11 as Russell pitted. Early pit stops began around lap 9 but were not without drama. There was a close call between Bottas and Tsunoda, with Tsunoda stopping in time to avoid a collision. Gasly received a penalty for attempting to leave his pit box prematurely, which resulted in his right rear wheel detaching and injuring one of his mechanics.
 Valtteri Bottas retired on lap 21 due to an engine failure, prompting a virtual safety car. Leclerc and Norris took advantage of the situation to switch to the hard tire. The incident escalated to a full safety car after marshals couldn't move the car without a tow truck. The safety car bunched up the field, and Verstappen led the restart on lap 27. Just before the restart, Stroll collided with Ricciardo, causing damage to both cars. On lap 27, Magnussen forced Tsunoda off track, damaging his left rear wheel and ending his race. These incidents triggered another full safety car to clear debris.
 The race restarted on lap 31 with Verstappen leading Norris, Leclerc, Perez, Alonso, and Sainz. Ricciardo was ninth but quickly fell behind. He retired due to damage sustained in the collision with Stroll. Perez 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 recovered using fresh tires, passing Hamilton for P8 on lap 49. Alonso continued his push 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 finish a Formula 1 Grand Prix in China. Verstappen won, followed by Norris in P2 and Perez 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 planning a special blue livery to honor the Ferrari North American Racing Team (NART) of the 1960s. Miami is Logan Sargent's home race, as he hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix returns to the calendar after being canceled last year due to historic flooding. Finally, the Monaco Grand Prix takes place the following weekend, from May 24-26. May promises to be an exciting month with plenty of action and potential surprises in the driver market.
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