Japanese Grand Prix: Full F1 finishing order, Max Verstappen wins as Daniel Ricciardo crashes out on lap one

The Japan Grand Prix went off the rails from the opening lap, with Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo involved in a crash just seconds into the race - before normal service resumed.

Officials remove the car of RB's Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo from the track after he crashed out at the start of the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix race at the Suzuka circuit in Suzuka, Mie prefecture on April 7, 2024. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)

A frustrated Daniel Ricciardo has labelled his opening lap crash at the Japanese Grand Prix as the “worst thing” for a driver after his bid to reignite his Formula 1 career suffered another horror blow.

Fighting for his career as pressure mounts following a testing start to the 2024 F1 season, Ricciardo’s race at Suzuka lasted only until turn three after making contact with Alex Albon.

Ricciardo’s RB and the Williams of Albon both speared off the track and crashed into the tyre wall, prompting the race to be red flagged.

Qualifying 11th just behind his Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda, Ricciardo’s car was sent spinning after his left rear tyre made contact with the right front of Albon as they jostled for position in the mid-field.

Both Ricciardo and Albon emerged from their cars after the smash, but damage to the tyre barriers prompted the race restart to be delayed while repairs were conducted.

Commentators initially described it as a “racing incident”, but both drivers were summoned to the stewards post-race to explain their part in the crash.

The stewards determined that the tangle was a “first lap incident” and no further action would be taken.

But they said “a different determination would have been made” if the incident had occurred on another lap.

Albon said over team radio after the crash, “He just squeezed me, nowhere to go”.

Ricciardo said he had been excited about his race prospects after narrowly missing out on Q3 in qualifying, but accepted the incident was “racing, it happens”.

“A lap one incident is definitely the worst thing as far as a driver (is concerned),” Ricciardo said.

“After yesterday we were feeling alright and excited for a good day today and it kind of all fell away straight away obviously on the start and then the incident.

“There is this massive build-up and then you feel like you have now got all this energy that I don’t really know what to do with, so it’s obviously racing, it happens now and then which is part of it.

“I will just try to watch Yuki’s race and see what we can learn from that and I (will) test here on Tuesday so I will get the laps back that I lost today.”

Daniel Ricciardo’s return to the F1 circuit has been hit by another blow. Picture: Getty

The incident is another blow to Ricciardo, who is fighting to secure his future in F1 as his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who was 10th, finished in the points for the second race in a row.

Ricciardo is yet to score any points this season after a frustrating start to the year.

The eight-time grand prix winner finished 13th in the opening race in Bahrain, 16th in Saudi Arabia and had his best result of the season at his home race in Australia when he was 12th.

There has been speculation of a mid-season driver switch at RB if Ricciardo can’t turn his fortunes around with reserve driver Liam Lawson waiting in the wings.

The young Kiwi impressed when he stepped in for Riccardo after the Australian broke his hand last season.

Explaining the lap-one incident in Japan, Ricciardo conceded his “poor getaway” had left him vulnerable in the mid-pack as he struggled for traction.

Ricciardo’s car is removed from the track after he crashed out at the start of the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix. Picture: AFP

“They definitely kind of concertinaed behind us … the cars in front on medium (tyre) looked to fare OK, but myself and Yuki had a pretty poor getaway on the medium and all the cars behind on the soft just got us quite easily,” Ricciardo said.

“We were just scrabbling obviously for some grip. By turn two it had settled a little bit, but then I remember getting out of two with quite still with a little bit of lack of traction and I remember an Aston (Martin) on my left so I was kind watching that car.

“And then as I was starting to drift to open up (turn) three, I felt Alex. I saw his onboard (vision) and he just had so much better drive out of two, I don’t even know if he wanted to be there, but you could see me going a little bit sideways and just as I think you probably said everyone kind of got choked up and that was that.

“Unfortunately a short Sunday.”

Verstappen (front L) leads after the restart. Picture: AFP

Triple world champion Max Verstappen romped to victory, leading team-mate Sergio Perez to a dominant one-two finish for Red Bull.

Verstappen failed to finish in Australia a fortnight ago but he was in control for the entire race at Suzuka after starting from pole and claimed his third win from four grands prix this season.

The Dutchman finished 12.535sec ahead of Perez, who came home in second in front of Ferrari’s third-placed Carlos Sainz in dry, sunny conditions.

Verstappen was back to his breathtaking best after a brake issue in Melbourne saw him retire from a race for the first time in two years.

He was starting from pole for the fourth time in four races this season and he stamped his authority on the race by leading Perez to the first turn.

Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen (C) celebrates his Japan GP victory with second-placed Sergio Perez (L) and third-placed Carlos Sainz Jr (R). Picture: AFP

Verstappen said this week that Suzuka was one of his favourite circuits and he has now won the Japanese Grand Prix three times in a row.

Sainz, who triumphed in Australia, took third ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who started from eighth on the grid.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was second in last year’s race, was fifth ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Mercedes’ George Russell edged out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for seventh, while Lewis Hamilton was ninth in the other Mercedes.

Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda was 10th for RB, scoring points at his home grand prix for the first time.

After the earlier Ricciardo crash, the action resumed from a standing start and Verstappen picked up from where he left off ahead of Perez.

Verstappen returned to winning ways in Japan after a disappointing Australian Grand Prix. Picture: Getty

Leclerc took over the lead after Verstappen pitted on his 17th lap, but the Red Bull driver was back in front four laps later.

Verstappen and Perez both consolidated their positions, leaving Norris fighting for third against the two Ferraris.

A late lock-up cost the McLaren driver his chance of a podium finish. Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu retired with a gearbox issue on his 19th lap. Williams’ Logan Sargeant skidded off the track to a standstill late in the race but resumed driving.

The championship resumes in a fortnight’s time with the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

It will be the first time the event has been held since 2019, before it was curtailed by the pandemic.

The Japanese Grand Prix was being held in April after being shifted forward from its usual late-season slot.

Originally published as Japanese Grand Prix: Full F1 finishing order, Max Verstappen wins as Daniel Ricciardo crashes out on lap one