# 2024 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2024 Japanese Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 MSC Cruises Japanese Grand Prix 2024) was a Formula One motor race held on 7 April 2024 at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka, Japan. It was the fourth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship. It was won by polesitter Max Verstappen driving for Red Bull, with teammate Sergio Pérez and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. behind him. Yuki Tsunoda of RB scored a point, the first Japanese Formula One driver to do so at their home race since the 2012 edition of the race.

## Background

The event was held at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka for the 34th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 5–7 April. The Grand Prix was the fourth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the 49th running of the Japanese Grand Prix. The edition was the first time that the event was held as an early-season round, a departure from its traditional schedule between September and November. The move was part of Formula One's regionalisation efforts, which put the Japanese Grand Prix between the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix.

### Championship standings

Ahead of the weekend race, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 51 points, four points from Charles Leclerc in second, and five from his teammate Sergio Pérez in third. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship with 97 points, separated from Ferrari by 4 points and from McLaren by 42, in second and third, respectively.

### Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. Ayumu Iwasa made his Formula One practice debut for RB, driving in place of Daniel Ricciardo in the first free practice session.

### Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (the three hardest in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.

## Practice

Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 5 April 2024, at 11:30 local time (UTC+9), and was topped by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari. The session was red-flagged after Williams' Logan Sargeant lost control of his car and hit the wall, breaking his front wing. The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 15:00 local time, and was topped by Mclaren's Oscar Piastri ahead of Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. The damp conditions prevented most drivers from completing a run, and only five set competitive lap times. The third free practice session was held on 6 April 2024, at 11:30 local time, and was topped by Verstappen ahead of his teammate Pérez and George Russell of Mercedes.

## Qualifying

Qualifying was held on 6 April 2024, at 15:00 local time (UTC+9).

### Qualifying classification

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Qualifying times | Qualifying times | Final grid |
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Final grid |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:28.866 | 1:28.740 | 1:28.197 | 1 |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:29.303 | 1:28.752 | 1:28.263 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:29.536 | 1:28.940 | 1:28.489 | 3 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:29.513 | 1:29.099 | 1:28.682 | 4 |
| 5 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 1:29.254 | 1:29.082 | 1:28.686 | 5 |
| 6 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:29.425 | 1:29.148 | 1:28.760 | 6 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:29.661 | 1:28.887 | 1:28.766 | 7 |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:29.338 | 1:29.196 | 1:28.786 | 8 |
| 9 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:29.799 | 1:29.140 | 1:29.008 | 9 |
| 10 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 1:29.775 | 1:29.417 | 1:29.413 | 10 |
| 11 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 1:29.727 | 1:29.472 | N/A | 11 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1:29.821 | 1:29.494 | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 1:29.602 | 1:29.593 | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1:29.963 | 1:29.714 | N/A | 14 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1:29.811 | 1:29.816 | N/A | 15 |
| 16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 1:30.024 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1:30.119 | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1:30.131 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 1:30.139 | N/A | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 1:30.143 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| 107% time: 1:35.086 ||||||||
| Source: ||||||||

## Race

The race was held on 7 April 2024, at 14:00 local time (UTC+9), and was run for 53 laps.

### Race report

Polesitter Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, led the race into the first corner before a crash involving Daniel Ricciardo and Alexander Albon neutralised the race for over twenty minutes while the tyre barriers had to be repaired. Following the red flag period, the race restarted with a standing start on lap three. On lap 12, Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu retired due to a gearbox problem, the third retirement of the race. Verstappen remained unchallenged, eventually making his pit stop on lap 16. This handed the lead of the race to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, but Verstappen, who had a significant tyre advantage, closed the gap to Leclerc and by lap 20 retook the lead. By that point, it became clear that Leclerc was performing a one-stop strategy on his medium tyres, and swapped to hards by the end of lap 26. Leclerc's one-stop strategy would prove effective, while the Mercedes drivers of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who had swapped to hards during the red-flag period, were struggling with tyre degradation. A brief yellow flag period was observed on lap 42, after Logan Sargeant in the sole remaining Williams drove into the gravel at turn 9, but was able to reverse back on track and continue. As the race entered its final laps, Carlos Sainz Jr. overtook Leclerc for the last spot on the podium behind Verstappen's teammate Sergio Pérez. Russell attempted to overtake Oscar Piastri at turn 16 in the closing laps; Piastri temporarily maintained his position, but on the final lap Russell successfully overtook Piastri to finish in seventh. Yuki Tsunoda of RB scored one point in tenth, the first Japanese Formula One driver to score a point at their home race since Kamui Kobayashi's podium at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.

### Race classification

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 53 | 1:54:23.566 | 1 | 26 |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 53 | +12.535 | 2 | 18 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 53 | +20.866 | 4 | 15 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 53 | +26.522 | 8 | 12 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 | +29.700 | 3 | 10 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 53 | +44.272 | 5 | 8 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 53 | +45.951 | 9 | 6 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 | +47.525 | 6 | 4 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 53 | +48.626 | 7 | 2 |
| 10 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 52 | +1 lap | 10 | 1 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 12 | |
| 12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 52 | +1 lap | 16 | |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 18 | |
| 14 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 13 | |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 52 | +1 lap | 15 | |
| 16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 52 | +1 lap | 17 | |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 52 | +1 lap | 19 | |
| Ret | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 12 | Gearbox | 20 | |
| Ret | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 0 | Collision | 11 | |
| Ret | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 0 | Collision | 14 | |
| Fastest lap: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT) – 1:33.706 (lap 50) ||||||||
| Source: ||||||||
Notes
* ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.

## Championship standings after the race

| | Pos. | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Max Verstappen | 77 |
| 1 | 2 | Sergio Pérez | 64 |
| 1 | 3 | Charles Leclerc | 59 |
| | 4 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | 55 |
| 1 | 5 | Lando Norris | 37 |
| Source: ||||
| | Pos. | Constructor | Points |
| | 1 | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 141 |
| | 2 | Ferrari | 120 |
| | 3 | McLaren-Mercedes | 69 |
| | 4 | Mercedes | 34 |
| | 5 | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 33 |
| Source: ||||
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.