With an extraordinary lead of six Grand Prix races ahead of the season's conclusion, Red Bull-Honda has been crowned Constructors' World Champion. This marks their sixth time achieving this feat, following victories in 2022 and in previous years between 2010 and 2013 when they used Renault engines. This achievement fills their trophy cabinet with six World Constructors' titles obtained in just 19 years of participation in the Formula 1 World Championship. These impressive numbers solidify Red Bull-Honda as one of Formula 1's great teams, joining illustrious names like Ferrari with 16 constructors' titles, Williams with 9, Mercedes and McLaren with 8 each, and Lotus with 7. Red Bull now finds itself in excellent company, with six titles under its belt, and the future looks promising.
At Suzuka, Max Verstappen dominated the entire Japanese weekend in an extraordinary fashion. He secured the top position in all sessions, starting from Friday's free practice sessions. Thanks to this performance, Verstappen is closing in on his third consecutive Drivers' Championship victory. Currently, he's only three points shy of surpassing his teammate Sergio Perez. This goal seems within his reach, especially considering Perez's disastrous Grand Prix in Suzuka, marked by an initial collision with Lewis Hamilton and a series of errors due to nervousness.
Verstappen once again demonstrated his skill at the start when two McLarens attempted to challenge him. However, he managed the situation expertly, taking the lead of the race between the first and second corners. His victory at Suzuka is the thirteenth of the season out of sixteen races, bringing his career total to 48 wins, placing him fifth in the all-time drivers' standings. He is now just three victories away from Alain Prost and five from Sebastian Vettel. It's not out of the question that he will soon surpass these champions and become the third most successful driver in Formula 1 history, behind only Michael Schumacher with 91 wins and Lewis Hamilton with 103.
McLaren-Mercedes secured the second and third positions in the race, with Lando Norris delivering an exceptional performance, while Oscar Piastri dropped from second to third after starting from the front row. Nevertheless, this was a historic moment for the young Australian driver, marking his first front-row start and his first podium in just 16 Grand Prix races.
On the other hand, Norris maintained his second place, following similar results at Silverstone and Budapest. McLaren can now seriously consider challenging for fourth place in the constructors' standings, currently held by Aston Martin. Since their turnaround in Austria, Zak Brown's team has amassed 155 points, while Lawrence Stroll's team has only garnered 67 in the same period. In total, Aston Martin has 221 points, whereas McLaren has 172. In this battle, Fernando Alonso played a significant role for Aston Martin, while Lance Stroll's contribution has been minimal, with only 10 points from Austria onwards.
Ferrari had hoped to pose a challenge to McLaren but ultimately couldn't do so. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz gave it their all, with Leclerc securing fourth place with an impressive race and a notable overtake on George Russell between turns 1-2, while Sainz finished sixth. Mercedes attempted a unique pit-stop strategy for George Russell, who was the only one to make a single tire change, but it was unsuccessful. Russell fiercely battled his teammate Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari drivers, but he ultimately finished seventh. The race was also tough for Hamilton, who defended vigorously against his teammate Russell.
Unfortunately, Aston Martin-Mercedes' performance was disappointing, with Fernando Alonso finishing eighth and Lance Stroll retiring. Alpine-Renault managed to breathe a little easier, with both drivers earning points, albeit in ninth and tenth positions. Alpha Tauri-Honda narrowly missed out on the top 10, despite a strong performance from Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, who alternated between eighth and tenth positions. Both Haas-Ferrari cars crossed the finish line, but without much glory, while Kevin Magnussen was hit by a confused Perez. It was a disastrous day for Williams-Mercedes, with Alexander Albon involved in an unfortunate incident with Valtteri Bottas at the start and Logan Sargeant retiring, who, despite unfortunate circumstances, seems to not always be at the level of the competition.
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