On April 7, the F1 Japanese Grand Prix was held. Verstappen led the way to the championship, his team-mate Sergio Pérez finished second, and China's Zhou Guanyu had to retire early due to a gearbox failure.
After the start of the race, Ricciardo and Albon collided on the grid, which directly caused a red flag. After about 20 minutes, the drivers left the pits for a formation lap and the race resumed with a static start.
On lap 9, Zhou Guanyu pitted for hard tyres and came out in 18th place. On lap 13, Zhou Guanyu made another pit stop and withdrew from the race in Japan due to a gearbox failure.
On lap 19, two Mercedes were overtaken in quick succession. On lap 26, Leclerc was easily overtaken by Pérez, with Red Bull occupying the top two positions. On the 34th lap, Tsunoda, who was playing at home, overtook Hulkenberg and managed to reach the points zone.
As the race entered the final 10 laps, the battle for the final podium spot was fierce, with the battle for Leclerc, Norris and Sainz heating up.
On lap 44, Sainz overtook Norris and Ferrari took third and fourth positions, with the two Red Bulls still in the top two. On the final lap, Russell overtook Piastri and moved up to 7th.
In the end, Verstappen led the way to the championship and won his third race of the season, his team-mate Sergio Pérez finished second, and Red Bull Racing came home for the third time this season. Sainz finished third, earning Ferrari a podium spot.