Max Verstappen WINS Japanese Grand Prix as Red Bull secure one-two finish after lengthy red flag delay following opening-lap crash as Mercedes endure another day to forget

For anyone wondering whether Max Verstappen’s failure to win in Melbourne was anything other than a temporary aberration then here was your answer, delivered with the Dutchman’s typically emphatic flair.

It may not have been the resounding victory that he recorded here just over six months ago but a 12.5-second gap between Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez saw him return to the top step of the podium in some style after the pain of a race-ending reliability issue two weeks ago.

'It was very nice. The critical bit was the start to stay ahead and after that the car got better and better for me throughout the race, I don't know if it had to do with the clouds coming in,' said the victorious driver.

'Everything went well - pit stops, strategy. It couldn't have been any better. The last race was a little hiccup the last race but very happy we are here back on top. Great fans and in front of Honda as well, it's fantastic to win here.'

Even a brief and unexpected interlude in the form of a red flag on the opening lap of the race – which came after Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon made a mess of the tyre wall heading into turn 3 – failed to knock Verstappen out of his stride.

Others, including Lewis Hamilton, used the break to regather their thoughts and tweak strategies. Some, unsuccessfully it has to be said, broke the mould by changing tyres and attempting to switch to a one-stop race.

In truth that was never likely to unsettle Verstappen given how far ahead of the rest of the pack he was and how in tune his Red Bull has looked with this iconic circuit ever since they rolled into town.

Behind the Red Bulls, there was a fascinating game of cat and mouse between Ferrari and McLaren who were both represented in the battle for the title of best of the rest.

Charles Leclerc, who started the weekend as Verstappen’s closest title rival in the championship standings, endured a difficult practice and qualifying but the Monegasque driver’s persistence looked set to be rewarded with a third-place finish.

Yet he was pipped to the podium in the closing stages after team-mate Carlos Sainz, who profited the premature finish to Verstappen’s race in Melbourne two weeks ago to claim victory around Albert Park, snuck past him. 

The more he carries on producing performances like this, the quicker he will find himself snapped up for a drive next season.

'I had a good race. I'm very happy because it was quite tough out there with the degradation but then the clouds came and the degradation went a lot lower and I thought one-stop was quicker and we were on the two,' said Sainz.

'I had to overtake a lot of cars out there. Overtaking was tricky, like always at Suzuka, you need to nail the last chicane to get a good run into Turn One. I could finish my moves but it was tough out there.'

One team it feels are already looking forward to a fresh start is Mercedes, whose woes continued in Suzuka where their struggles in the high-speed corners were painfully exposed.

George Russell and Hamilton could only finish 7th and 9th respectively and that was only after the former managed to profit from a mistake by Oscar Piastri to find a way past the McLaren driver in the closing stages.

While Hamilton toiled away in his misfiring Merc, Verstappen was left to take in the sights and sounds of Suzuka as he cruised to victory. It looks as though Australia was nothing more than merely a bump in the road after all.